MANILA, Philippines- Mariing kinondena ni Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri at tinawag na “blasphemous” ang performance ni drag queen Pura Luka Vega sa Tagalog version ng Lord’s Prayer.
Sa pahayag, hiniling ni Zubiri sa awtoridad na iimbestigahan ang grupo ni Vega kung may paglabag sa Revised Penal Code.
Makikita sa video na nakasuot ni Vega ng daming pang-relihiyoso at kumakanta ng rock version ng “Ama Namin,” na siyang nagpaigiting sa kritisismo mula sa politiko at lider ng Catholic community.
“I condemn in the strongest possible terms the extremely blasphemous and offensive video that has gone viral showing people in a club making a mockery of the Christian faith and disrespecting The Lord’s prayer,” ayon kay Zubiri sa pahayag.
“In my opinion, this is the height of the misuse and abuse of our freedom of expression that borders on criminal activity. It offends the sensibilities of our Christian brothers and sisters, deeply demeans the faith of millions of Filipinos, and dangerously scales the boundaries of protected speech and expression,” paliwanag niya.
Sinabi ni Zubiri na maaaring maghain ng kasong kriminal laban sa ka Vega at grupo nito sa paglabag sa Article 201 ng Revised Penal Code, na pinarurusaan ang sinumag “offend any race or religion in the performance of obscene or indecent plays, scenes, acts or shows in theaters, fairs, or any other place.”
“We urge the authorities to look into this matter,” aniya.
Sinabi pa ni Zubiri na kasalukuyang tinutukoy ng awtoridad ang venue kung saan ginawa ang video. “We are also studying the possible violations of law that was committed here,” ani Zubiri.
Ipinagtanggol naman ni Vega ang “Ama Namin” video, sa pagsasabing na wala itong pambabastos.
“I’d like to stress that my drag performance as Jesus was not meant to disrespect anyone. On the contrary, it is a drag art interpretation of worship,” aniya.
“I was very intentional of using a specific song and the symbolism to relate the queer crowd with the intersection of queerness and religion,” dagdag nito.
Ngunit, sinabi ni Zubiri na dapat kondenahin ang video hindi lamang ng Kristiyano kundi maging miyembro ng ibang relihiyon hinggil sa pambabastos sa pananampalataya para sa pribadong kita o ilang theatrical laughs.”
“Ang unang reaksyon ko sa video na ito ay matinding pagkadismaya at galit. For billions of Christians, The Lord’s Prayer is one of our most solemn prayers during the Holy Eucharist, and to take it out of this context of worship, and use it as material for a comedy bar, is highly insensitive,” ayon kay Zubiri.
Dagdag niya: “I hope that this behavior will not be repeated in the future. Again, let us respect each other’s beliefs, religious or otherwise, because that is how we build a kinder and gentler society.” Ernie Reyes
