Philippines | Chris Brown confused about why he’s stuck in Manila

Philippine Bureau of Immigration, Deputy spokesperson Dana Mengote holds a copy of the Immigration Lookout Bulletin for Grammy award-winning singer Chris Brown in Manila

Grammy award-winning singer Chris Brown says he’s confused about why he’s stuck in Manila, where his departure has been delayed by a fraud complaint over a canceled concert last New Year’s Eve.
Immigration bureau spokes-
woman Elaine Tan said yesterday that the R&B singer remained in the Philippines after he was prevented from leaving on Wednesday following a concert the day before.
“He is still in the country,” Tan said in a text message. Brown has not applied for the emigration clearance he needs to be allowed to leave the country, she added.
In videos posted on Instagram, Brown clowns around, asking, “Can somebody please tell me what the (expletive) is going on?”
“I don’t know, I’m reading headlines after headlines, what the (expletive)! ,” he added, smiling as his companions lying on sofas in the background laughed.
In another video, he says when he gets to customs, he will say he did nothing wrong. He then slumped on the carpeted floor and broke into a dance amid laughter in the background.
The singer canceled a
New Year’s Eve concert at the 55,000-seat Philippine Arena at the last minute, reportedly because he lost his passport the day before the scheduled event.
The politically influential Iglesia ni Cristo religious group, through its Maligaya Development Corp. that operates the Philippine Arena, filed the fraud complaint before the Department of Justice on Tuesday.
The 101-year-old religious group, believed to have more than a million members in the Philippines and overseas, is known to vote as a block. Politicians often seek endorsements by church leaders during elections. News of infighting within the church hierarchy has, however, emerged Thursday
A copy of the complaint alleged Brown and his Canadian promoter, John Michael Pio Roda, swindled MDC through their fraudulent acts, including false promises that Brown would perform at the concert. The complaint said the contract was worth a total of USD1,006,250 and that Brown and his promoter were paid in full. It said MDC promoted the concert and sold tickets based on the guarantee that Brown would perform.
“It was a misunderstanding that has since been cleared up,” said a spokeswoman for Brown, Nicole Perna said Wednesday. “Chris leaves tomorrow for Hong Kong to continue his planned performances.”
Tan said a lookout bulletin is not on its own a bar to departure, unlike a hold departure order.
She said the Justice Department order directs the bureau to “take prudent steps to verify on the status of the criminal case against the subjects.”
“If the concerned agency raises no objection to the departure, then we will allow the subject to leave,” Tan said. Teresa Cerojano, Manila, AP