CAIB exec: Stripping for Budoy sends the wrong message

"They are sending the wrong message to the people," this was the reaction of Cebu City Anti-Indecency Board chairman Rene Bullecer to the stripping of Pusod Art Group members in an artistic rendition of support against the eviction of fellow artist Errol "Budoy" Marabiles,a housemate of ABS-CBN reality show "Pinoy Big Brother Celebrity Edition".

Members of the Pusod Art Group of the University of the Philippines-Cebu College shed off their clothes as an artistic gesture of support to Budoy, Monday night at a café in barangay Mabolo.

While Bullecer acknowledged the UP "mentality" in expressing support to a fellow artist, he reminds the charitable group supported by Budoy that what they did could set a precedent for other groups.

"We are with them in supporting Budoy, but not to the extent nga maghubo sila. It will set a precedent for others," Bullecer said.

Bullecer added he will discuss the incident to other officers of the board during their meeting on Monday.

The other day, Gina Pestaño, a UP Fine Arts graduate and a band mate of Budoy of the Junior Kilat fame, explained that the stripping was done in an impromptu gathering of UP professors and Fine Arts students and the Pusod Art Group members who are pushing for Budoy's stay at PBB.

Pestaño said the café is an artists' hub and a venue for expression and that those artists who gathered there made use of the venue to express their belief that Budoy should stay.

"Dili man sila bastos, naglingkod ra sila. Wala magbilangkad, basin lainon ug sabot sa uban. Ang paghubo nila symbolism for stripping of pretensions as this speaks well of Budoy who is cool, levelheaded and true to his self on and off camera," she pointed out.

Budoy, 33, made his way to PBB via a selection process for the Celebrity Edition of "Pinoy Big Brother" where he shares limelight with fellow Visayans - TV personality Angela Calina and former-escort-service-girl-turned-sexy-star Keanna Reeves, among others.

Calina was among the first to leave the house in the celebrity edition of the reality TV show after thieves broke into her residence in Mabolo. Every week, one of the people in the show will be voted out and the audience can participate by sending text messages to keep a housemate in.

Several Cebuanos are also supporting Budoy's continued stay at the house and even young children are asking their parents to send text messages to support the reggae star. - Garry B. Lao