BAGUIO CITY — Women’s groups are not pleased a half-baked apology from country singer Romeo Ogong.
JaPNet Cordillera and Innabuyog-Gabriela opened Women’s Month with a demand for accountability over an apology made by Southern country singer Romeo Ogong, especially after subsequent side comments from the now-controversial personality surfaced.
In a statement, JaPNet said: “We support the Baguio City Council’s move to review the resolution of IPMR Max Edwin to declare Mr. Ogong persona non grata, and we commend Councilor Betty Lourdes Tabanda for recognizing that consequences must follow when someone enters our home and disrespects its people. We stand with our city as it continues to protect our spaces, our culture, and our dignity.”
The group added that they believe the persona non grata resolution should not be withdrawn until “genuine remorse and clear behavioral change are demonstrated.”
Ogong’s official social page has released comments after the apology saying “I wish you all a perfect you. To all my bashers, enjoy my failures and shame. I hope your family is blessed with of your negativity and being perfect. But, yeah, you all hurt me good. Congratulations.”
Japnet’s statement explained “A firm commitment to change, demonstrated through future conduct. Concrete steps toward growth, including education and sensitivity formation where necessary. Subsequent public appearances in which the matter appears to be treated lightly, or narratives portraying himself as the victim, only intensify perceptions of insincerity. Psychological harm is determined not by the speaker’s intent, but by the impact on those affected. If women continue to feel harmed or dismissed, then the harm remains real and unresolved. We affirm that Mr. Ogong deserves fair space to voice his side. Justice requires that all parties be heard. It requires due process and respectful dialogue.”
Ogong publicly apologized on February 26 at Ibaloy Park. He was accompanied by his lawyers, Ranjan Kalyl Umaking Wanget and Ivory Miles Batton, and met with the Onjon ni Ivadoy Association, Inc., Baguio Councilors Joel Alangsab and Max Edwin, and Baguio Character Council adviser Engr. Popo Cosalan. The meeting was an attempt to appease a community offended by a “joke” Ogong made during a public performance on Ibaloy Day.
However, JaPNet’s statement explained that subsequent public appearances where the matter was treated lightly—or narratives portraying the singer as the victim—only “intensify perceptions of insincerity.”
Innabuyog-Gabriela issued a similar statement, claiming the apology was issued out of pressure rather than genuine regret. “An apology that shifts blame to ‘misinterpretation,’ to ‘sensitivity,’ or to the public’s reaction—rather than taking full responsibility for the harm it caused—is not accountability. This is an excuse,” the group stated.
The organization emphasized that a heartfelt apology does not justify the act or blame the victim. “We refuse to accept empty words. We demand genuine accountability… Excuse is not remorse. Popularity is not immunity,” the group added.
Innabuyog -Gabriela said “Violence does not begin with physical harm; it begins with words, attitudes, and mindsets that treat women as inferior. When patriarchal and misogynistic views are applauded, they become embedded in our social norms and institutions.”
The public backlash stemmed from a gender-based slur directed at women during Ogong’s February 23 performance at the Melvin Jones Grandstand. The event was part of the 17th Ibaloy Day celebration, themed “Buday chiya Bagiw, makajowanan say wara e pan-aadivayan.”
Maria Cynthia Cornel Abalos of the Baguio Character Council was the first to call out the performer. In a social media post, Abalos expressed her shock: “I was shocked by the words used by the entertainer at that time. It was as if he was so full of himself, challenging whoever wanted to line up to receive his ‘sperm’ to spread his lineage.”
She noted that Ogong claimed he was endorsing in vitro fertilization as a way to “secure a good race.” – Maria Elena Catajan