BACOLOD CITY –– Two residents of Silay City paid fines of P3,000 each and issued a joint public apology on Tuesday for indecent exposure while pole dancing during the Dinagsa Festival in Cadiz City, Negros Occidental.
Stephen Matti and John Rey Abella read a signed public apology during a press conference in Cadiz City for their inappropriate actions during the Dinagsa Festival last Saturday.
Videos and photos of their indecent acts that were posted on social media went viral and drew the ire of the public.
Cadiz City Mayor Salvador Escalante said Ordinance 07-2015 prohibits nudity in public or any state of undress, which is punishable by 10 days of imprisonment or a P3,000 fine.
The two opted to pay the fine.
“We have learned our lesson and we pledge that the same incident from us will not happen anymore, not only here in Cadiz, but in other cities as well,” Matti and Abella said.
They also said their acts were not in line with the spirit of the fiesta in honor of the Sto. Niño de Cadiz.
Matti and Abella said they were merely carried away by the joyous celebration and had no intention to destroy the Dinagsa celebration.
“Unfortunately, we did not realize it at the time, that we were being irresponsible, foolish and immature. That, despite the city’s accommodation we failed to respect the event,” they said.
Silay Mayor Mark Golez said he had Matti and Abella picked up and delivered to Cadiz on Tuesday morning.
The two, who are usually hired as makeup artists during beauty tilts, had also committed the same indecent acts in Cadiz City before and during a Kabankalan City fiesta, Golez said.
Meanwhile, Escalante said ten other persons seen carrying placards with sexually explicit messages during the Dinagsa Festival have only until this week to come forward and issue public apologies for their actions.
If they fail to do so, charges would be filed against them, he said.
So far, a 27-year-old female has come forward to apologize.
Escalante called on netizens to help identify the persons carrying the placards whose photos appeared on social media.
“We would like to remind the public that display of obscene messages on placards, lewd acts, and the like are certainly unacceptable and have corresponding punitive measures,” Escalante said.