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Philippine drag queen arrested for ‘immoral’ performance as Jesus Christ
Amadeus Fernando Pagente, who performs under the stage name Pura Luka Vega, was detained on Wednesday in relation to a controversial performance in July.
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Equal rights advocacy supporters wave rainbow flags as they mark Pride Month at a rally in Quezon City, Philippines, June 2, 2023. (BenarNews/Basilio Sepe)
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drag queen who caused an uproar in the staunchly Catholic Philippines by performing a punk rendition of The Lord’s Prayer dressed as Jesus Christ has been arrested, human rights advocates said Friday as they demanded charges be dropped.
Amadeus Fernando Pagente, who performs under the stage name Pura Luka Vega, was detained on Wednesday in relation to a controversial performance in July, Manila police confirmed to BenarNews.
Police have charged Pagente, 33, under Article 201 of the Philippine Criminal Code that specifically prohibits “indecent or immoral plays, scenes, acts or shows” that “offend any race or religions.”
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The case stemmed from a show in which Pagente wore a Black Nazarene costume while dancing to an up-tempo version of The Lord’s Prayer inside a pub.
The Black Nazarene is a revered icon of an ebony Jesus Christ with the Cross that dates to the early 1600s when the Philippines was a Spanish colony. The statue is paraded around Manila during an annual spectacle, which draws millions of Catholic devotees.
The icon is believed to be miraculous, and the faithful jostle with one another to wipe the statue with a handkerchief. Legend has it that the statue was charred but survived a fire aboard a galleon that brought the Nazarene to the Philippines from Mexico in 1606.
Pagente’s performance, a video of which went viral online, prompted the Hijos del Nazareno-Central, a group of Black Nazarene devotees, and the Philippines for Jesus Movement to file complaints with prosecutors.
“[Pagente’s] performance may offend some, but it is a protected expression under international human rights law,” said Ryan Thoreson, a specialist in the LGBT+ rights program at Human Rights Watch.
“Freedom of expression includes artistic expression that offends, satirizes, or challenges religious beliefs.”
Thoreson called for Pagente to be released from custody and the charges dropped.
“To prevent future censorship of controversial viewpoints, lawmakers in the Philippines should amend or eliminate article 201 to ensure that religious beliefs cannot be misused to deny others their human right to free expression,” he said in a statement.
Thoreson cited the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the freedom of religion or belief who said “the international normative standard is clear: States may not impose punishment for insults, criticism or giving offense to religious ideas, icons or places, nor can laws be used to protect the feelings of religious communities.”
“While freedom of expression can be limited for narrow reasons of national security or public order, such as incitement to violence, Pagente’s performance, however controversial, does not fall into those exceptions,” Thoreson said.
The court handling the performer’s case has recommended bail at 72,000 pesos (US$1,271).
Filipino human rights lawyer Romel Regalado Reyes said Pagente’s performance was “outside the confines of religious ceremony.”
“It is a public performance in the undifferentiated public sphere,” Reyes said in a statement. “If [Pagente] claims it is art, then the proper mode of response is to critique the cover of art he invokes for his act.”
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For the Christians offended by the performance, he said they should remember free expression “works both ways.”
Alex Irasga, technical adviser to the Hijos del Nazareno-Central, said he hoped that Pagente would “fully repent” for the stunt and find clarity by facing up to the charges.
After being arrested, Pagente on Friday voiced surprise at the legal proceedings that had been initiated.
“The performance was not meant to be disrespectful and that the song was a way to reconcile their Catholic faith with their queerness. Performing it in public is an ‘embodiment of God's love for all,’” Pagente told reporters from custody.
“I just want to create a narrative that despite all of this, Jesus, as the embodiment of God’s love for all, does not forget about the oppressed, including the LGBTQIA+ community,” Pagente said.
