MANILA, Philippines— Lady Gaga will be allowed to hold a second concert in Manila on Tuesday night after state censors ruled her “provocative” act was within legal bounds, a Pasay City Mayor Antonino Calixto said.
Calixto said a team he sent to monitor the first night of the concert on Monday found nothing wrong with the event.
“Based on the report of the inspection team I sent to the Lady Gaga concert last night, we find no violations of the special conditions of the Special Permit we issued last May 16 to the promoters of the concert, Ovation Productions,” Calixto said.
There was also no nudity or holy symbols used in an improper context, despite some “admittedly provocative” statements and choreography, which was deemed still “part of an artist’s expressions” protected by the Constitution.
“Therefore, the City Government of Pasay sees no compelling or legal reason to disallow the second concert from proceeding,” Calixto said.
Up to 20,000 fans are expected to attend the American pop phenomenon’s final Manila show, the same number as were at Monday’s concert.
Conservative Christians in the Catholic-majority nation have been staging street protests daily to demand a government ban on the events, alleging some of Lady Gaga’s songs are blasphemous.
One senior church leader said her show amounted to “devil worship.”
Lady Gaga spoke out against her local critics at Monday’s concert, declaring she was “not a creature of your government” before belting out her controversial song “Judas.”
Her world tour, “The Born This Way Ball,” has hit the headlines on its way through Asia, with an upcoming concert in Muslim-majority Indonesia denied a police permit for fear of violence from religious hardliners.
Prominent Filipino lawyer Romulo Macalintal, one of those who sought to block the Manila concert, said he was resigned to the local government’s ruling.
“They are the persons authorized by law and if that is their decision, I cannot do anything, I just leave it to God,” he said.
Originally posted at 02:08 pm | Tuesday, May 22, 2012