Drag queen Jesus ‘blasphemous’ – senators

MANILA, Philippines — Drag queen Pura Luka Vega, in a viral performance, dressed up as Jesus Christ and danced to a punk rock version of the Catholic hymn “Ama Namin.”

Senators are not amused.

Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri was shaking with anger when he watched the viral video.

“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,” Zubiri said yesterday.

In the secular state of the Philippines, Zubiri pleaded with religious groups to file a case against the drag queen for violation of the Revised Penal Code’s Article 201, which prohibits “indecent shows.”

Zubiri believes that Pura Luka Vega’s performance is “the height of the misuse and abuse of our freedom of expression that borders on criminal activity.”

Sen. JV Ejercito said the video is blasphemous.

Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III said the drag queen “should think of some other way to make himself known and not resort to gimmickry.”

“As a woman of faith, I admit I personally find this regrettable. However, I also caution against the use of this incident to deny rights and protections to a community that has long been marginalized and excluded,” said Sen. Risa Hontiveros.

Pura Luka Vega said on Twitter that his performance connected his queerness with his Catholic upbringing, and he would not apologize for it.

“My intention was never really to mock per se. I feel like it’s my queer way of actually praising God... I did that intentionally to challenge our notion of how we worship or sing our praises. It’s me trying to reclaim me as a Catholic, what I think can be considered as an acceptable form of worship,” he said.

‘Respect God’

Pura Luka Vega has been told to respect liturgical celebrations.

“May God have mercy on him,” Capiz Archbishop Victor Bendico said in an interview over Church-run Radio Veritas on July 13.

Bendico, chairman of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines-Episcopal Commission on Liturgy, was commenting on the former Drag Den Philippines contestant’s viral performance.

“Dancing to the tune of a sacred and biblical prayer, with matching sacred costume to boot, is completely disrespectful not only of people and institutions practicing such faith but of God Himself,” Fr. Jerome Secillano said on July 12.

Roman offended

Meanwhile, Bataan Rep. Geraldine Roman, the first Filipino transgender lawmaker, said she was offended “as a Catholic” by Pura Luka Vega’s performance.

“Do we really need this kind of provocation? What is the contribution of this to LGBT rights? Your rights end where the rights of others begin,” Roman said.

She claimed that invoking the performance as a constitutionally guaranteed freedom of expression is not absolute.

“I also feel for the Catholics who have been offended, I was offended too. But please don’t think that all of us in the LGBT community are like this. There are also other LGBT members who love and serve the Lord, including the Church,” she added. — Evelyn Macairan, Delon Porcalla