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COUNCILOR Romeo Calizo over the weekend threw his support behind the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency that has called for a ban on the rap song “Amatz” for allegedly promoting marijuana use.

Calizo said he also supports the PDEA call for television and radio stations to refrain from playing the song by rapper Shanti Dope.

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“Sa apilyedo palang da-an sa artist, dili na maayo paminawon labi na sa iyang gigamit nga lyrics sa maong kanta kay nag-promote gyud  sa marijuana,” said the councilor who chairs the city council’s police committee and co-chairman of the City Anti-Drug Abuse Council (Cadac).

He said “Amatz” would be discussed in Cadac’s meeting this week.

“Motabang kita nga dili gyud ma-promote ang maong kanta kay ngil-ad kaayo paminawon,” Calizo said.

Red Bajao,  PDEA spokesman for Region 10, said any media entity that plays the song on air would only be promoting marijuana use. “Kon i-play sa mga radio stations ang maong music, tabra ra nga mitabang sila pag-promote sa maong kanta nga maka-influence sa mga kabataan nga OK ra diay mogamit sa marijuana bisan supak kini sa bala-od.”

PDEA head Aaron Aquino has written to the Movie and Television Classification Board (MTRCB), asking it to stop the broadcast of the rap song because it goes against the government’s “war on drugs.”

“Imbis atong gipakusog ang atong kampanya batok sa illegal  drugs, gi-promote na hino-on, so sukwahi kini sa atong advocacy,” Bajao said.

He said Congress should consider passing a law against songs that promote illegal drug use.

The group managing Shanti Dope strongly denied that the rap song is intended to promote illegal drugs even as it asked authorities to understand the context of the entire song instead of judging it based on a few lines.

Reads a portion of its statement: “While anyone is welcome to interpret a song or any cultural text, it is also clear that for an interpretation to be valid, it needs to have basis, and must be within the context of the cultural text as a whole.”

The song, it argued, speaks of the ill effects of illegal drugs. (Nitz Arancon)

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