MANILA, Philippines (CelebrityAccess) — Grammy winner Chris Brown left Manila for the Chinese resort island of Macau on Friday, however his promoter is in aPhilippine jail facing a legal dispute with a politically influential religious sect.
"Yo Manila we love y'all but Macau is poppin' We're in a Rolls Royce baby!" Brown said after landing in a video posted on his Instagram account.
According to L’Agence France-Presse, Promoter John Michael Pio Roda, a Canadian national, was arrested on charges of fraud and working in the country without a permit on Friday and will remain in Manila until the immigration bureau resolves his deportation case.
The deportation proceedings is separate from the criminal complaint filed at the justice department, which will determine whether charges will be filed in court, a spokesperson for the immigration bureau told AFP. The spokesperson noted that Brown was allowed to leave because he did not have a derogatory record and there was no warrant of arrest against him.
Pio Roda's legal charges stem from a New Year's Eve concert last December which Brown cancelled at the last moment, claiming to have lost his passport. The politically connected religious organization Iglesia ni Cristo and its Maligaya Development Corporation (MDC), which manages the Philippine Arena, claim that they paid Brown in full ahead of time for the show and have yet to be reimbursed. – Staff Writers
