Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla on Monday said he already knows some of the facts concerning the controversial conference of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), including the identity of the official who invited the entertainers to the event.

In a media briefing, Remulla said he knows how the event happened and who were present.

“I have the identity of the person already. The one who was spoken to offered the entertainment services because there were other services given. Besides the dancing, I think there was some singing also done. Some talented singers also sang,” he said.

According to Remulla, the said official had attempted to talk to him.

“Yes, there’s an attempt, but I wanted it in writing. I want the explanation to be in writing,” he said.

For his part, NBI director Medardo De Lemos has apologized for the intermission dance number that took place at the NBI conference on June 30, saying the bureau has started a probe into the incident.

Remulla also reiterated that an internal investigation is underway.

“When there’s a disciplinary matter, you allow the internal rules first to kick in so they will police themselves. It is not for us to jump into the fray and take over the department,” he said.

The Justice secretary said no payments were made to the entertainers.

“These were voluntary contributions to an affair of old men who thought they were adolescents,” he said.

The video of the performance was posted by comedian Long Mejia on his vlog and thus was viewed by the public.

Senators Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa and Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito earlier described the “sexy” number as “immoral”.

“If that is not illegal, that is definitely immoral,” Dela Rosa said in a text message.

Ejercito said the dance was inappropriate in a government agency’s event.

“’Di rin ako makapaniwala. It’s really inappropriate, immoral. Talagang hindi siya karapat dapat,” Ejercito told reporters in an online interview.

(I couldn’t believe it… It should not have happened.)

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III meanwhile said he would question the NBI about this event in upcoming budget deliberations.

Mejia, who was invited to perform at the event, said there was nothing lewd with the performance of the dancers.

“Sexy na masagwa? Hindi, wala akong nakitang ganu’n e. Kasi sinasayaw nila sa national TV ‘yan e. Napapanood ‘yan e,” Mejia said.

(Sexy and lewd? No, I didn’t see anything like that. The dance that they did, they also perform on national TV. That is widely watched.)

“Wala akong nakitang masagwa sa sayaw nila,” he added.

(I didn’t see anything inappropriate with their dance.)

Re-evaluate culture

Meanwhile, Remulla called the incident shameful and said this should lead to a re-evaluation of the Filipino culture.

“Sana ‘yung mga noontime show, itigil na rin ‘yung pagsasayaw-sayaw ng mga bata. Pati minsan mga batang musmos pinasasayaw nila, ginagawang beauty contestant, pinagsusuot ng mga hindi dapat suotin,” he said.

(I hope noontime shows will also stop making children dance. They even let really small children dance, make them beauty contestants, and make them wear clothing that they should not wear.)

“Yung ating kultura bilang mga Pilipino, dapat tignan rin natin. Hindi lang ito sa NBI, kundi sa ating lahat mismo. May problema po ‘yung bansa natin tungkol dito,’ he added.

(We should also look into our culture as Filipinos. This is not just on the NBI but to all of us. We really have a problem regarding this.) —KG, GMA Integrated News



Remulla says he knows who invited entertainers to NBI conference
Source: Filipino Viral News PH