San Juan vows legal assistance for those affected by 'Basaan 2024'

MANILA, Philippines — After apologizing for the unruly behavior of participants in the recent "Wattah Wattah" festival, the San Juan City government has vowed to extend legal assistance to aggrieved individuals who want to file a complaint.

During a press conference on Friday, San Juan City Mayor Francis Zamora said that individuals are free to come forward and file a case against festival participants who doused them with water.

"Hinihikayat ko ang ating mga mamamayan na pumunta sa aking opisina, lalo na ang mga nagging biktima. Sapagkat mas gusto ko na pumunta sila rito at mag-file sila ng kaso direct po sa ating mga piskal at Revised Penal Code mismo ang gamit sa kanila kung saan mas malaki ang magiging parusa sa kanila," Zamora said.

(I encourage our citizens to come to my office, especially those who have become victims. I prefer that they come here and file a case directly with our prosecutors, using the Revised Penal Code, which imposes harsher penalties on the offenders.)

Zamora said that the city legal officer will help affected individuals file a case with the San Juan City Prosecutor's Office.

Earlier, the San Juan city government said in a statement on social media that it is actively gathering evidence related to those who acted inappropriately during the annual festival, which it explained as a religious and cultural tradition.

The city government also included video evidence of people being doused with water as its basis for possible violations of city ordinance no. 51, s. 2018, among other laws.

San Juan also urged the public to submit photos and video evidence of illegal acts to the City Tourism and Cultural Affairs Office.