At last, Christian Church leaders belonging to the Philippines for Jesus Movement took the cudgel and filed a case against the so-called drag queen Pura Luka Vega or Amadeus Fernando Pugante in real life before Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office.
Pura obviously is a member of the LGBTQ – born a man but desirous to be a woman! He wanted respect but cannot respect the rights of others. He wanted to be accepted by society but cannot accept his true gender given by God. To gain attention, he dressed up like the Nazarene and sung the Lord’s Prayer (Ama Namin) in what appears to be a party.
What Pura Luka did was truly offensive to the feelings of the faithful – mocking Jesus Christ in a Christian country like ours is unacceptable and must not be tolerated. He can dress up like a woman, put all the make-up he needs, walk and talk like a woman but for heaven’s sake, spare the Lord! His being gay is not a license for him to do things that offend other people. As observed by SP Miguel Zubiri, what Pura did was “the height of misuse and abuse of our freedom of expression that borders on criminal activity” punishable under the Revised Penal Code.
While freedom of expression is guaranteed by our Constitution, such freedom is not absolute. Not everything we want to express we can freely do on stage without the corresponding accountability. Remember the line in a song “tayo ay nabubuhay hindi para sa sarili lamang?” That “no man is an island?” We live for others hence we must respect the rights of others. The case filed against Pura Luka is a test case. If he will be exonerated for one reason or another, surely, he would do the same mockery or even worse in the future.
What Pura Luka and his minions did in that controversial party reminds me of the Grand Party in Brazil where Satan was hailed and Jesus mocked. Of course, we all knew that God in his infinite wisdom showed His power by sending flood to Brazil. I wonder if God would show His wrath against Pura Luka and those who enjoy watching him mocking Jesus.
Sometimes I can’t help but think that many misfortunes in this country – typhoons, floods, landslides, volcanic eruptions, criminalities and illnesses are brought by the utter disrespect of many of us towards the Great Author of all. And I feel like singing the praise “when will we ever learn, when will we ever learn?”
Melinda Bagsic Evangelista
I was born to write and I believe that’s my calling. I love writing because it brings me to the realm exclusively of mine. It is also my opinion that “immortality” can be achieved not by searching for the Holy Grail and drinking from it but by living your life worth-writing or writing something worth-reading. Since I cannot promise you a life worth-writing, I keep myself busy writing something worth-reading. I am thankful to God for giving me the talent and skill to see life in different perspectives not seen by many and the courage to share it to my readers. This first ever Tutubi Digital News Magazine is a perfect avenue to bring you the many facets of life that you can ponder upon in this time of the pandemic. Enjoy reading all the articles.
