Chito Miranda www.bandera.inquirer.net
The first time Chito Miranda took the stage after a sex video of his with girlfriend Neri Naig broke on the Internet last August was nerve-wracking, he confessed. But his fans’ unfaltering support helped him roll with the punches, said the frontman of Parokya ni Edgar.
“They showed me that they didn’t care about the [scandal]; it made me stronger,” Chito told reporters at the recent launch of the band’s latest album, “Bente,” from Universal Records.
A CD-DVD compilation of Parokya’s biggest hits and most popular music videos, “Bente” comes in a package that also contains two documentaries that chronicle the band’s 20-year journey.
“Music fans don’t care about show biz issues,” Chito told the Inquirer. “[As for] the people who turned it into a big deal… we don’t care about them.”
He said the scandal mattered only to those who wanted to make an issue out of it and, therefore, should no longer be discussed.
Even so, Chito handled the probing queries tactfully, almost courteously. “We brushed it off and moved on,” he said.
Also present at the press launch were band members Darius Semaña (lead guitar), Gab Chee Kee (rhythm guitar), Buwi Meneses (bass guitar) and Dindin Moreno (drums). Chito said none of them was upset about the incident.
“We try to never take things too seriously,” the frontman said. “A few days after [the video surfaced], we even shot a television commercial for a liquor brand.”
Chito sought the help of the National Bureau of Investigation’s Cybercrime Division to track down whoever uploaded the video. The 37-year-old musician told probers that the computer hard drive it was stored in had been stolen. To Chito’s dismay, a second clip was leaked in October.
Nudged to disclose details of the case, Chito begged off, saying, “I can’t talk about it.”
Still in a relationship
He’s not one to discuss his love life in public, he said, because he found it “corny.” However, asked if he and Neri already had plans to get married, he relented: “When you’re in a relationship, you always think this could be it.”
Neri, 28, a finalist in the first season of the talent search “Star Circle Quest,” is preparing for a show biz comeback via TV5’s drama series, “Obsession.”
Chito said he was happy about this development. “I’m her boyfriend; I need to be her inspiration.”
They plan to spend Christmas in Dubai, where Parokya will headline a gig with the original Eraserheads.
Chito described his girlfriend as an “unbelievably strong” woman. “But that was a hard blow,” Chito said, adding that she helped Neri cope by taking her out often, to show her that, unlike the ruthless world of social media, the real world wasn’t as harsh.
“In social media, she was bashed, judged,” he said. “I told her that people in the real world could still be loving and compassionate.”
(apolicarpio@inquirer.com.ph)