Drag Queen Pura Luka Vega was unbothered by persona non grata declaration of several cities and municipalities against him.

In a video posted on X, Pura was seen lip-syncing a Taylor Swift song while holding a portrait of himself wearing his controversial Jesus Christ costume.

He then gave a speech to his fans, addressing the declaration of persona non grata against him by the City of Manila; Bukidnon; Toboso; Nueva Ecija; Cagayan de Oro City; Cebu City; General Santos City; Occidental Mindoro; Coron Palawan; and Dinagat Islands.

Pura challenged other places in the Philippines to declare him persona non grata.

“Ito lang masasabi ko… simplehan lang natin ha? Lahat tayo makasalanan. Tama? Hindi tayo perpekto. Tama? Gayunpaman, do unto others what you want others to do unto you. Okay? Do not do unto others what you do not want others to do unto you. Golden rule lang po ‘yun,” said Pura.

“Para sa mga ibang lugar na gustong mag-persona non grata diyan, dagdagan niyo pa! Pakialam ko. Mayroon tayong separation ng church at ng state. ‘Yun lang po. Thank you po!” he added.

OKAY PERSONA NON GRATA TOUR!!! pic.twitter.com/gMwIMj2wjI

— captivating m1ss squi 🏳️‍⚧️ (@femcelgender) August 20, 2023

It can be remembered that Pura was facing criticisms on social media because of his ‘Ama Namin’ performance.

Aside from being declared as persona non grata, Pura was also facing two legal complaints from different Church Groups.

The drag queen had refused to apologize for his actions.

Food franchise giant Potato Corner received criticism on social media after one of their job postings requiring their applicants to have a ‘good set of teeth’ and proportional weight to height went viral on social media.

On August 21, Potato Corner already apologized for the said job ad, saying that they’re taking the criticism they received seriously and doing steps to prevent the same incident to happen in the future.

“It may have been amusing for some, but we in fact are taking this seriously. We deeply regret the incident and we’re reviewing our procedures, teaming up with our valued business partners, franchisees, and suppliers to make sure that situations like this won’t happen again. So that whatever we say and do at Potato Corner reflects our values,” the company statement read.

Meanwhile, several netizens noticed the difference in Potato Corner’s qualifications in their overseas branch in Canada, compared to their local stalls.

In a social media post of a netizen, they noticed that in Canada, the only qualifications set by Potato Corner in their applicants are fries lover, passionate and reliable, and good at multitasking.

Some netizens couldn’t stop asking why Potato Corner Philippines’ wanted their new applicants to be good-looking, which was irrelevant in their job as a fries cook.

“Sa totoo lang hindi ko tinititigan ang tindera sa potato corner pag bumibili kami…wala akong pake kung maganda siya o hindi basta lutuin niya yung fries nyahahahaha,” netizen Mark said.

“Bat dto sa pinas sobrang daming hinahanap??? Hndi nman 200k ang sweldo ah d ba???” netizen Yao asked.

Paolo Contis gave his reaction to the current relationship of his former partner LJ Reyes who just recently engaged with non-showbiz boyfriend Philip Evangelista.

In an interview, Paolo said that he was happy with the current state of her former partner after they got separated in 2021.

“Of course, I’m happy for her. Everyone deserves love. I don’t have anything bad to say. I’m actually very happy that she’s getting married,” said Paolo.

Paolo had one child with LJ, Summer, and until now, the actor was trying to make a way to visit her.

The actor was currently in a relationship with Yen Santos and netizens suspected that the latter was the reason why Paolo and LJ got separated.

In a past interview, LJ said that her separation from Paolo was not a ‘mutual’ decision.

“No, hindi siya mutual. Naniniwala ako kapag mutual isang decision, pareho kayong sumasang-ayon na hindi na nagwo-work yung relationship. Hindi po, e. Ramdam na ramdam ko naman po na ibang-iba na,” said LJ.

“Matagal ko na nararamdaman na nakahiwalay na siya sa amin. Ramdam na ramdam ko po yun,” she added.

Paolo also had been criticized by netizens for admitting that he was not sending any financial support to her daughter. That’s why some of them joked that another man took the responsibility of the actor as a father.

Franchise giant Potato Corner released a statement after a job advertisement posted by one of their branches went viral on social media for alleged discriminatory qualifications.

It can be recalled that Potato Corner’s job ad became subject to criticism and meme after they stated that their potential applicants must have a ‘good set of teeth’ and their height should be proportion with their weight.

In a statement released by the company to the press, they described the incident as ’embarrassing’ and called the job posting ‘inappropriate’.

“Our values are all about diversity and inclusion, and true to the experience that we offer, we believe in celebrating the uniqueness that each individual brings.

“Discriminatory hiring is not something we support or condone, and not aligned with who we are. We’re all about providing equal opportunities for all and giving fair recognition and reward to effort, attitude, potential, and creating positive outcomes.

“It may have been amusing for some, but we in fact are taking this seriously. We deeply regret the incident and we’re reviewing our procedures, teaming up with our valued business partners, franchisees and suppliers to make sure that situations like this won’t

happen again. So that whatever we say and do at Potato Corner reflect our values.”

Netizens questioned the double standard between businessman Tapalord and drag queen Pura Luka Vega who are both known for cosplaying Jesus Christ.

Before Pura, there was ‘Tapalord’ who received criticism on social media after he released a video of him acting as Jesus Christ during his crucifixion while dancing ‘Tang Ting Tang Ting’.

While Tapalord had received thousands of negative comments from the faithful, the vlogger didn’t catch the attention of politicians and government officials to be declared persona non grata like Pura.

Meanwhile, Pura’s world became smaller as he was continuously being banned in different parts of the Philippines including Cebu City, Dinagat Islands, Occidental Mindoro, Manila City, Laguna, Bukidnon, General Santos City, Floridablanca in Pampanga, and Taboso.

Marlon even made a post declaring himself as ‘safe’ from persona non grata declaration.

Several netizens noticed the said double standards, saying that Marlon should also receive the same treatment as Pura.

“Kapag si Pura Luka Vega galit na galit kayo. Pero kapag si Marlon Tapalord, okay lang,” netizen Kim said.

“Grabe yung Tapa Lord na nagcocosplay as Jesus Christ di man lang kinocallout lol puro minus ligtas points na joke and haha reacts lang pero kay Pura Luka Vega, galit na galit kayo,” netizen Noelle remarked.

Despite the comparison made by several netizens, Marlon and Pura remained friends and expressed their support for each other.

“Alam naman naten na ang sagot sa mga tanong na yarn. Kung ang Diyos nga mapagpatawad, tayo pa kaya. Pero seriously I hope na hindi ka maapektuhan ng isyu,” Pura told Marlon.

E.A.T host Wally Bayola talked to the press about the summoning order received by their noontime show from the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) after he was heard cursing during one of the episodes of the ‘Sugod Bahay’ segment.

During a press conference held for his upcoming show with Jose Manalo on TV5, Wally confirmed that E.A.T and MTRCB already discussed the issue.

However, Wally refused to give details about the meeting.

“Yes po. May pag-uusap po ang MTRCB at sa production. Syempre, hindi pa ako pwede magbigay ng salaysay and I want to keep it privately muna kasi nga, ongoing pa ‘yung pag-uusap,” said Wally.

According to the statement released by MTRCB, Wally’s action possibly breached Presidential Decree No. 1986 after he was heard uttering forbidden words on national television.

Suspension from airing on television was one of the possible penalties that E.A.T may face.

A day after the incident, Wally then issued a public apology and admitted that he was wrong from saying such words.

“Ako po ay may nabitiwang salita na hindi ko po dapa sinasabi. Nagkamali po ako doon. At ako po ay humihingi ng inyong paumanhin at pag–unawa ninyong lahat. Pasensya na po, pasensya na po sa lahat.”  he said.

Sharon Cuneta couldn’t stop herself from complaining about the money she spent to treat her fans at every concert.

Through her Instagram post, Sharon criticized the freeloaders who only wanted to get free tickets from her instead of supporting her events.

She made the said post amid her upcoming reunion concert ‘Dear Heart’ with her former husband Gabby Concepcion on October 27 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.

“Tuwing magkakaconcert ako, pinakasumasakit ang ulo ko hindi sa gagawin ko na show, kundi sa dami ng humihingi ng complimentary o libreng tickets!” said Sharon. “Limited lang po ang complimentary tickets ko – at sa totoo lang, itong concert na ito ang pinakanagpasakit ng ulo ko,”

The megastar also stated that she might lose all her talent fees if she would buy tickets for every fan who requested to watch the concert for free.

“Nagpapasalamat po ako sa lahat ng friends at family members ko na di ako iniistorbo at kusang bumibili ng tickets nila. Sa totoo lang po, ang aga naubos ng complimentary tickets ko! Pag ako pa bumili baka si Gabby na lang ang kumanta dahil mauubos ang sueldo ko sa complimentary tickets,” she said.

“Kung puede lang ilibre ko lahat kayo pero siempre di ko kaya!” she added.

 

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