Ace Balangitan

In a Facebook video, Marcos vlogger Sangkay Janjan said Drag Queen Pura Luka Vega was banned in Manila City through the city council’s  “persona non grata” declaration.


CLAIM: Vlogger Sangkay Janjan claims Drag Queen Pura Luka Vega was banned in Manila City through the Manila Council’s “persona non grata” declaration.

RATING: Misleading

CONCLUSION: While the declaration of “persona non grata” is legally binding under international law, the Manila Council’s resolution is a mere expression rather than an order.


In his 11-minute video, Sangkay Janjan read an article regarding Luka being declared as persona non grata in Manila over the drag queen’s controversial performance. Halfway through the video, the vlogger said Pura was banned in the city.

The claim made by Sangkay Janjan is MISLEADING. 

While the former “Drag Den Philippines” candidate was declared unwelcome in Manila, she was not banned and may still enter the city.

Under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, “persona non grata” which means an “unwelcome person” is a declaration used by the receiving state usually to bar a diplomatic agent from entering the former’s territory or to refuse to recognize the agent’s functions. 

In the context of local governments, the declaration is a local council’s resolution which is just an expression of disapproval or opinion rather than an order with legal force.

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) 2020 opinion cited Municipality of Paranaque v. V.M. Realty Corporation, which stated that a resolution is “merely a declaration of sentiment or opinion of the lawmaking body on a specific matter.” Hence, Pura may still enter Manila since the declaration is not a law.

2022 Vice Presidential candidate Walden Bello illustrated this when he freely went to Davao Sanggunian Office which is the very same office that declared him unwelcome, defying his persona non grata status in the city over his allegations of drug corruption in Davao.

In July, the drag queen caught the ire of the public and several religious groups over her rock rendition of “Ama Namin” while wearing garments to appear like Jesus, which was branded as “blasphemous”.

The performance prompted many localities to declare Luka as persona non grata, including Bukidnon, General Santos City, Floridablanca, and Taboso, among others.

In her defense, the drag queen reiterated that “drag is art.”


Edited by Christine Gaile Dimatatac


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