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Pura Luka Vega on being declared persona non grata in Manila: ‘You don’t even know me’

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Rhea Manila Santos

<p>Last month, local drag queen Pura Luka Vega (real name Amadeus Fernando Pagente) made headlines after one of his performances went viral and angered Catholics all over the country.</p><p>In the said performance, he wore a Black Nazarene costume while dancing to a remixed version of the “Ama Namin.”</p><p>Apart from the backlash from religious leaders and followers, he also earned the ire of the local government with various LGUs from General Santos City, Floridablanca in Pampanga, and Roboso in Negros Occidental declaring him persona non grata or non-welcome or unacceptable in their area.</p><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-2" src="https://www.instagram.com/reel/CvhRPp2ue3e/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=540&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fent-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A2%2C%22os%22%3A290464.9000000004%2C%22ls%22%3A269371.10000000056%2C%22le%22%3A269372.9000000004%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="857" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-2" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-0" src="https://www.instagram.com/reel/Ct6f2JiNBI2/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=540&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fent-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A0%2C%22os%22%3A269612%2C%22ls%22%3A269371.10000000056%2C%22le%22%3A269372.9000000004%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="857" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-0" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div><a href="https://push.abs-cbn.com/2023/7/15/pura-luka-vega-stands-by-controversial-drag-performance-amidst-backlash-1016" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong><u>READ: Pura Luka Vega stands by controversial drag performance amidst backlash</u></strong></a></div><p>Last August 8, the Manila City council followed suit and declared the Drag Den Philippines alumni persona non grata as well for blasphemy and mocking of the Christian faith. The resolution was led by  Vice Mayor Yul Servo Nieto and Majority Floor Leader Jong Isip and was approved by all 26 councilors who attended the session.</p><p>In an interview with Spot.PH, Manila City district 5 Councilor Ricardo &quot;Boy&quot; Isip, who is also the principal author of the resolution, shared, “Ito pong taong ito ay walang habas at &#x27;di man lang pinag-isipan ang kanyang ginawa…(I)sang kalapastangan po ang kanyang ginawang palabas. Hindi po dapat itong palagpasin kasi &#x27;pag pinalagpas natin ito, baka maparisan po ito. Kailangan na po nating gumawa ng aksyon.&quot;</p><p>They deemed the Pura as persona non grata for his depiction of the Black Nazarene in his performance which they consider a symbol of Manila. Every January 9, the city celebrates the Feast of the Black Nazarene at Quiapo Church , with the event considered as one of the biggest religious celebrations in the country.</p><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display:flex;max-width:550px;width:100%;margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:10px"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" style="position:static;visibility:visible;width:550px;height:406px;display:block;flex-grow:1" title="Twitter Tweet" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1689544692046991361&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fent-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com%2F%23%2Fworkspace%2Fmonitoring%3Fitem%3Durn%3Anewsml%3Aent-workbench-api.abs-cbn.com%3A2023-08-11T07%3A45%3A27.256748%3Acec02870-fd76-4fcc-abff-7959d5b46565%26action%3Dedit&amp;sessionId=e60e3566218d3ad57516acc8e87f5857c85d7b86&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=aaf4084522e3a%3A1674595607486&amp;width=550px" data-tweet-id="1689544692046991361"></iframe></div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8"></script><p>On his X ( formerly known as Twitter) account, the controversial drag queen posted a status update the same day the news broke out.</p><p>“Tell me EXACTLY what I did wrong. I’m open for a dialogue and yet cities have been declaring persona non grata without even knowing me or understanding the intent of the performance. Drag is art. You judge me yet you don’t even know me.”</p><div><a href="https://push.abs-cbn.com/2023/7/22/drag-queen-pura-luka-vega-declared-persona-non-grata-in-gensan-902" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong><u>READ: Drag queen Pura Luka Vega declared persona non grata in Gensan</u></strong></a></div><p>Apart from being declared persona non grata in four areas in the country, Pura is also facing a complaint lodged by church leaders of the Philippines for Jesus Movement filed in Quezon City where they alleged he violated Article 201 of the Revised Penal Code (RPC) and Republic Act 10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act.</p><p>The said article Article 201 under Philippine law, “immoral doctrines, obscene publications and exhibitions and indecent shows are penalized under Article 201 of the Revised Penal Code (RPC). Offenders shall be imprisoned for a maximum of six years and/or fined ₱6,000.00 to ₱12,000.00,” according to the Senate of the Philippines official website.</p>

<p>Three other LGUs including the City of Manila have now declared drag queen Pura Luka Vega persona non grata because of his 'Ama Namin' performance.</p>

Three other LGUs including the City of Manila have now declared drag queen Pura Luka Vega persona non grata because of his 'Ama Namin' performance.