The management of the Embassy Superclub at the Fort said they "denounce" the alleged mauling of a balikbayan customer by one of their emcees early Thursday morning, which led the Taguig city government to close down the popular nightclub.
In an official statement, the management of the nightclub said that they denounce in the strongest terms Thursday's incident, where balikbayan Alex Vargas claimed that emcee Paul Montemayor, also known as Pauly Mac, mauled him after he allegedly snubbed the emcee's rapping because he did not understand the Tagalog lyrics.
They also clarified that Montemayor is not an employee of Embassy but is a freelance emcee.
"Embassy regrets the unfortunate incident which occurred last 26 June 2008. Embassy as an establishment has never espoused violence of any kind. We denounce in the strongest terms the altercation which involved Messrs. Alex Vargas and Paul Montemayor," the statement said.
"We wish to clarify that, contrary to what has been reported in the media, Mr. Montemayor is not, and has never been an employee of Embassy. In fact, Mr. Montemayor is a freelance emcee who performs in numerous clubs and establishments in Metro Manila, most of which are competitors of Embassy," the statement added.
Based on the statement of the victim, Montemayor was rapping on his face, but Vargas didn't understand the words because it was in Tagalog so he just turned his back.
Suddenly the suspect pushed him and started punching blows, said the victim in his statement. Another guy, a foreigner, even held the victim, as Pauly Mac beat him up.
"Parang pinabayaan lang sila doon," said Taguig police chief Alfred Corpus.
Vargas sustained head injuries and was brought to the hospital by his cousins.
The victim is already out of the hospital but is planning to file a case of serious physical injuries against the emcee.
But Montemayor insisted he was the one who was pushed and that he only punched the victim twice.
"It seemed like he wanted more provoking, you know, he wanted something more out of it than he really wants... [Only] Two punches... I guess [it was strong]," Montemayor said.
Meanwhile, Taguig officials say they will not allow the club to open unless they comply with some conditions such as beef up their security, install security cameras and drug sniffing dogs.
Though the officials admitted that many of them were relieved by the club's closure since the establishment was reportedly already notorious for fights outside the club involving patrons.
"Parang bad image sa Taguig. Sa totoo lang kahit sa tax, maliit lang ang binabayad nilang tax kaya di kami apektado kahit wala sila," said Taguig Business Permit and License Office chief Jeffe Minglana.
Thursday's incident was the latest involving the popular nightclub.
Last December 20, nine people, including two women, were arrested for allegedly taking part in the mauling to death international aircraft pilot Carlo Castellano at the parking lot of the club.
Several other incidents at the bar involving celebrities and scions of rich families have also been reported in the past. Report from Niña Corpuz, ABS-CBN News