A viral video of singer Juan Karlos Labajo (popularly known as JK Labajo) swearing in a side event to the Dinagyang Festival 2025 got the ire of the mayor of Iloilo City.
Though the performance on January 24, 2025 that mentioned a profane word got the approval of the partying crowd, the expletive did not sit well with Mayor Jerry Treñas.
Treñas cited that it is not appropriate to be spoken as the event was part of the festivity, the Dinagyang being a religious event.
“We will do something about it. Hindi natin ito ito-tolerate,” Treñas said.
The Iloilo City Council has mulled on passing a resolution demanding the singer to issue a public apology.
The passing of an ordinance to prevent a similar incident is also being studied.
The Council’s plan is backed by the Iloilo Festivals Foundation, Inc. (IFFI).
IFFI explained that the singer was one of the guest performers for a private organizer of the Dinagyang Festival.
IFFI owned up that they failed to check on Labajo’s song lineup, as they were more preoccupied with security concerns.
“Normally, isina-submit talaga ang lineup of artists and events dahil isinasubmit sa security and safety for their deployment. But as to the lineup of songs na kakantahin, yan ang wala tayo,” Joyce Clavecillas, IFFI executive director, said.
In 2024, IFFI’s decision to invite a content creator who also spoke of curses in a performance for the 100-day countdown to the Dinagyang Festival was also questioned.
Moving forward, IFFI vowed to implement tight screening on festival performers in the city.
“We will just have to remind the organizers to also remind the artists, ano ang mga protocols especially para maiwasan ang katulad nitong mga insidente,” Clavecillas assured.
As of this writing, GMA Regional TV One Western Visayas tried to reach out to Labajo, or his talent management, for a comment.
Labajo is yet to issue an official statement on the issue.
However, a city councilor said he finds nothing offensive in Labajo’s performance.
In a report by Sevein Hope Gegantoca over GMA Super Radyo Iloilo on January 31, 2025, City Councilor Rex Marcus Sarabia said that Labajo’s performance in a side event of the Dinagyang Festival was done in a concert, not during a Holy Mass or in a religious rite.
“I don’t find the performance of Juan Karlos to be offensive. I am aware that my colleagues at the City Council have already expressed their opinions on the recent performance of Juan Karlos Labajo during the Dinagyang Festival wherein the artist uttered bad words during a concert. Naturally, they were against such behavior and I fully understand where they are coming from. However, as a representative of the youth, I was urged to voice out our take on the issue,” Sarabia said in an official statement.
“I honestly don't find the performance of Juan Karlos to be offensive due to several reasons. First and foremost, I am fully aware that it is during the celebration of the Dinagyang Festival which is a cultural-religious event, however, the words uttered were not during a Mass or a direct celebration of a religious rite or ceremony. It was in the context of a concert wherein the religious aspect of the Dinagyang remains as an indirect background element. Which is why in my opinion, it could not be interpreted as a disruption of the exercise of religious rights. In fact, for almost the entirety of the City where the festivities were celebrated, you could make the argument that several unsightly behaviors were manifest but there was no condemnation at all. However, had there been a Mass or a solemn celebration, things would have been different, but such is not the case," Sarabia added.
"Secondly, if it is against the public policy of the City, many public figures have cursed in public as well and have not been reprimanded. If we demand a public apology from JK, it would be through a legislative act. It could be interpreted that it is a form of censorship of free speech through a form of subsequent punishment. This is not the first time JK performed something similar to this. The lyrics of the song itself expressed the expletive, albeit this time JK exercised artistic expression by adopting a Hiligaynon word. Even then, such free expression of curse words were not censored in other LGUs where JK previously performed. Iloilo City would be the only outlier, and other artists would be discouraged from performing here out of fear of reprimands similar to JK. Thirdly, I sincerely believe that the phrase used by JK is to merely express the intensity of the emotion of being heartbroken, and it is not intended to insult anyone," Sarabia's statement further reads.
"Given the context, I believe JK did not intend to offend anyone. Whether it be the religious rights of the church, or individual persons, or the public policy of the Ilonggo people. I think his performance was well-meaning, although he could have exercised more tact in view of the Dinagyang,” Sarabia further said.