Rock band joins ‘Free Mali’ campaign

MANILA, Philippines - Members of rock band Parokya ni Edgar, led by its vocalist Chito Miranda, had their “mugshots” taken as they joined calls for the government to allow the release of Mali the Elephant from the Manila Zoo.

 They had their picture taken while holding the sign “Parokya ni Edgar wants Mali freed,” People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) said yesterday.

Aside from Miranda, the band members calling for Mali’s release were Ferdinand Moreno, Darius Gerard Semana, Buhawi Meneses, and Gabriel Ignatius Chee Kee.

“Mali has been sentenced to a miserable life of solitary confinement with absolutely nothing to do day after day, year after year. Scientists, politicians, religious leaders, and tens of thousands of other concerned people have joined PETA in calling for Mali to be freed. We in Parokya ni Edgar do, too,” said Miranda.

PETA has been calling for the transfer of Mali from an enclosure at the Manila Zoo to a sanctuary in Thailand.