Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Junard Chan said he will ask the city council to declare Fil-Am rapper Ez Mil “persona non grata” over lyrics about the Cebuano hero Lapulapu in his song Panalo.
In a report by Cebu-based newspaper The Freeman on Monday, February 8, the recommendation for a “persona non grata” or unwelcome person status came after the US-based Pinoy music artist stirred controversy for his “Pinugutan si Lapu sa Mactan” lyrics in his now-viral song.
The song went viral after his fiery performance on the Wish USA’s YouTube channel with current views now approaching the 30-million mark.
But Mayor Chan will now ask the city legal department to look into what possible legal action can be taken against the fast-rising rapper.
“Nasuko ko, naglagot ko. Nagpataka lang siya himo og istorya. Unsa man nang iyaha, bahala og sayop basta kay aron siya mosikat? Dako’ng bugal-bugal ang iyang gihimo sa atong hero nga angay natong respetaran, dili bugal-bugalan,” Chan told The Freeman in Cebuano on Monday.
(Rough translation: “I’m angry, I’m outraged. He’s making up stories. What is he doing, he doesn’t care if it’s wrong as long as it makes him famous? He’s making a big mockery of our hero who should be respected, not ridiculed.”)
There are no written records about how Lapu-Lapu, regarded as the country’s first national hero, died, according to historians. Incidentally, the 500th anniversary of Lapulapu and his men’s victory at Mactan against Spanish invaders led by Magellan will be commemorated this year.
But in Panalo, Ez Mil goes: “Nanalo na ako nung mula pa na/ Pinugutan si Lapu sa Mactan/ At lahat ang nasaktan na/ Nalaman nila na pinatay/ Ang kanilang bayani/ Sa karagatan ng bansa/ Na pag-aari ng Pilipino…”
In a virtual presscon on Wish’s YouTube channel on February 4, the rapper-singer whose real name is Ezekiel Miller was asked if he has any plans to release a “corrected” version of his song amid criticism.
“I do not intend to have a corrected version of the song, because I feel like that’s ruining the integrity that I had within recording it, but it was, you know… It blew up because it made people talk, and I will let it stay that way,” he explained.
Ez, who grew up in Olongapo and moved to the States roughly five years ago, also apologized and admitted to “twisting how things were” in his song in an online interview.
“I’m sorry to anybody who was offended with the fact that me being putting inaccurate sources in our history as Filipinos.”
RELATED: Here’s why Ez Mil won’t ‘correct’ Lapu-Lapu lyrics in viral rap song
Meanwhile, upon the recommendation of Lapu-Lapu City legal officer James Sayson, the City Council is set to pass a resolution in a special session on Tuesday that will condemn Ez Mil for song lyrics depicting Lapulapu being beheaded in Mactan.
The resolution will also demand an apology from the singer-rapper to the people of the city and a statement urging him to rectify the lyrics.
