Lexter Castro, known on social media as “Boy Dila,” faced public backlash for dousing a motorcycle rider with water during the Wattah! Wattah! Festival on June 24. In a bid to make amends, Castro met the rider at San Juan City Hall on July 5 to personally apologize, with San Juan City Mayor Francis Zamora overseeing the meeting.
Mayor Zamora explained the sequence of events, noting that Castro had expressed a desire to meet the rider in his public apology. “When Lexter Castro issued a public apology for the incident, he said that he wanted to personally meet the rider he doused with water to ask for his forgiveness. Hence, we encouraged the rider to go to San Juan City Hall to achieve his wish,” Zamora said.
During the meeting, Castro apologized to the rider and presented him with a helmet and a raincoat as a gesture of goodwill. The rider accepted the apology and forgave Castro. “Yesterday, the rider went to our office and today, the two of them have finally met. Lexter asked for forgiveness from the rider and gave him a helmet and raincoat. The rider accepted Castro’s plea and forgave him for what he has done to him,” Zamora added.
Mayor Zamora emphasized that the incident serves as a lesson on the importance of mutual respect and avoiding actions that could harm others physically or emotionally. This year’s Wattah! Wattah! The Festival faced controversy due to reports and viral videos of participants harassing and dousing water on individuals against their will.
In response, Zamora announced plans to amend the city’s ordinance regarding the festival to prevent similar incidents in the future. “We will amend our existing ordinance that was created in 2018, the time when I was not yet a mayor, because of the incidents that occurred during the festivities. We will amend the ordinance to also include all other violations such as the dousing of water on motorcycle riders. There are loopholes in the existing ordinance and I recognize that,” Zamora said.
The mayor indicated that the city government would strengthen the ordinance and maximize penalties within the limitations set by the Local Government Code. “We will strengthen it (2018 ordinance) and maximize all possible penalties because of its limitations. Even if we want to increase the amount of penalty, the Local Government Code limits the value of city ordinance penalties to a maximum of P5,000 only. Hence, I urge those who would like to file charges against unruly residents during the fiesta to use the Revised Penal Code so that they may be put to jail,” he explained.
Zamora also announced the establishment of a designated “basaan zone” for future festivals on Pinaglabanan Road. This area will be set aside for water-dousing activities, allowing those who do not wish to participate to avoid the festivities. “I have also announced that we will have a ‘basaan zone’ in the next celebration of the festival here in Pinaglabanan road,” he noted.
The creation of this zone aims to balance the celebration’s traditions with the safety and comfort of all attendees, ensuring a more orderly and respectful observance of the festival in the future.