MANILA, Philippines – After 3 weeks of detention at the Bureau of Immigration’s detention facility in Bicutan, Taguig City, Filipino-Canadian concert promoter John Michael “Mike” Pio Roda was released after posting a P50,000 cash bond through his lawyer Raymond Fortun.

Roda was arrested in a hotel in Pasay City on July 23 by Philippine Bureau of Immigration (BI) agents. BI spokesperson Elaine Tan said Fortun requested for the promoter’s bail last July 24, but it was only approved on August 11. (READ: Chris Brown’s Fil-Canadian promoter detained by Immigration)  

Roda’s company, Pinnacle Live Concepts, was supposed to produce Chris Brown’s New Year’s Eve show at the Philipppine Arena last December 14, 2014. The show was cancelled because Brown said he had lost his passport. The arena is owned by the influential religious organization Iglesia ni Cristo (INC), and is managed by the Maligaya Development Corporation (MDC). 

MDC claimed the company lost around $1 million from the cancelled show. The international R&B singer, who was in the country last July 21 for his Manila concert, was barred from leaving Manila for 3 days because the charges filed by MDC required him to secure clearance from the Philippine Department of Justice (DOJ) before he could be allowed to leave the country.

Brown was allowed to leave after obtaining the clearance letter, but Roda remained in detention. 

According to the BI, Roda was held for “working without the appropriate visa” and for being an undesirable alien. The BI placed Roda on its hold departure list and confiscated his passport. 

Roda is required to report to the BI’s intelligence division every first and 3rd Monday of the month while his case is pending.

Roda denied swindling the INC.

He said the total amount spent on the cancelled concert only amounted to half of the alleged $1 million, claiming the money was already being paid to the INC company under a “compromise agreement.” 

The Filipino-Canadian promoter said in a statement on August 6, “In due time, [I] will execute and sign the appropriate legal document that will detail the true facts.” – Rappler.com