Tinga says club to reopen if safety tack checked

The Taguig City government will consider to allow the reopening of the Embassy Supperclub at the Fort Strip in Fort Bonifacio only if management complies with strict security measures that will ensure the safety of its guests.

Taguig Mayor Sigfrido Tiñga said that the closure of the high-profile Embassy Club is a professional and not an emotional decision.

“We are not here to drive away business. In fact, we are working doubly hard to live up to our name as the most business-friendly city in the country. We just want to make sure that patrons in all business establishments here in Taguig are safe,” Tiñga said.

Taguig Business Permits and Licenses Office head Jeffe Minglana said the city government is preparing a compliance agreement with the operators of the Embassy Bar to initiate certain security measures within and outside the establishment.

First, the bar will be required to beef up its security. Second, they will have to install security cameras at strategic areas. And third, they will be asked to provide K-9 sniffing dogs to secure the area.

Minglana said only when the above requirements are complied with, will the city government consider allowing the club to reopen again. Minglana served the closure order against it on Thursday afternoon based on a complaint filed against its disc jockey, Paul Montemayor, a.k.a. DJ Polly Mac, 25, who allegedly mauled Alexandrew Vargas, 20, a balikbayan guest inside the bar that early morning. Hours after the incident, relatives of Vargas sought the help of Tiñga, who immediately ordered the closure of the club.

Vargas, in his affidavit, said that he was near the dance floor when Montemayor and two unidentified suspects ganged up on him. No one from the club, particularly its bouncers, came to the victim’s aid or pacified the suspects.

“He (Polly Mac) began rapping in Tagalog in front of my face. Since I could not understand what he was rapping about, I slowly turned away from him. Then suddenly and without warning, he pushed me very hard and started hitting ang boxing me many times on my face, causing me to fall on the floor. I was not able to defend myself,” Vargas’s affidavit read.

The victim’s cousin Leslee Ann Santos, 18, told police two personnel of the bar even escorted the grinning suspect out of the club after the incident. No arrest was made.

Vargas, Santos and four other cousins, who are here in the country to attend a relative’s wedding, went clubbing at the Embassy Bar early morning Thursday.

Minglana, while enforcing the closure order, told the Embassy Bar officials to produce the suspect before the police so proper charges could be filed against him. Montemayor presented himself to the investigators Thursday night.

Additionally, Taguig police chief, Superintendent Alfred Sotto Corpus said a charge of serious physical injuries has already been filed against Montemayor and two other unidentified suspects before the Taguig Prosecutor’s Office.

Minglana said that a private party was held Thursday night in the area after the event organizers tried to intercede for the postponement of the closure order, since all preparations have already been made for the occasion.

“Since the organizers were not party to the closure and that they had a lot at stake with the cancellation of the event, we allowed them to push through with it outside the already closed establishment,” Minglana said.

The Embassy Supperclub has recently gained notoriety after a series of squabbles and scandals happened just outside the club, involving their patrons. Last December, an international pilot was mauled to death by customers of the club at the parking lot.

Aside from the Embassy Supperclub, the closure order was also served against its sister establishment the Embassy Fly.

Personnel of the Embassy Bar meanwhile, said that suspect Paul Montemayor, a.k.a. DJ Polly Mac, is not a regular employee of the establishment.

 “In fact, Mr. Montemayor is a freelance emcee who performs in numerous clubs and establishments in Metro Manila, most of which are competitors of Embassy,” the establishment’s statement read.

The Embassy also said that their personnel acted promptly and appropriately to resolve the situation and even assisted victim Vargas contrary to earlier reports.

“Mr. Vargas was administered first aid by our personnel and we had offered to call him an ambulance to take him to the hospital, although he declined the latter. Our personnel had likewise accompanied Mr. Vargas to the police station fronting our establishment to give him the opportunity to press charges against the individuals involved. He likewise declined to do so at that time.”

Further, the Embassy Bar noted it does not condone violent incidents and assures that it will take all necessary measures to ensure that such incidents are prevented in the future. “We likewise wish to assure the city government of Taguig of our continuing support for its programs to maintain a positive image for the city.”