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HAU Apl.de.Ap Music Studio (APLMS) canceled their Busking for a Cause event last Saturday, January 17, at the plaza of Museo Ning Angeles due to the venue’s lack of appropriate equipment despite the student organization’s requests.

Beginning preparations at 5:30 PM, the APLMS’s organizers, spearheaded by Jhon Daniel Villanoa, officer-in-charge and Assistant Multimedia Arts Creatives (MAC) Head, fully prepared their equipment for the venue. Students and other audiences filled benches, waiting for the busking, but technical difficulties and lack of communication led to the cancellation.

Upon asking what led to the cancellation, he explained that the venue had removed the power cord, “Because of that … [we] couldn’t continue the busking because we had no power, all of our equipments were electronic. The Museo didn’t really provide any updates or communication even though my co-head was emailing them.”

The co-head of the event that primarily contacted Museo Ning Angeles was Sean Edric Magbanua, MAC Head. He gave a written statement that corroborated with Villanoa’s interview statements, explaining that they intended to perform so that their earnings would be donated to those in need. APLMS organizers attempted to ask the stalls and merchants around the venue if they could share the electricity, but with the concern of shorting the power, they decided not to go forward with this.

Elijah Benjamin Yambao, one the guest musicians who was invited to perform, said in an interview, “Nobody got to perform, we were blocked from even doing so.” He also stated about the audience of students and others who were waiting: “It’s past 6:30 already, it’s been an hour, [the audience] was confused.” Despite this, he preferred to be optimistic about the experience.

“Tinanggal ata ‘yung saksakan doon, kasi meron dati doon, noong month ng December,” noted Mark, another APLMS member referring to the previous busking performance. Mark remained in high spirits, however, adding that he saw it as a part of the journey as a performer, even with the disappointment among his peers.

When asked if there were financial costs, Villanoa responded, “Thankfully, there was no money involved, because I suggested we should just use the equipment that we had.”

During this, an unaffiliated solo performer arrived, finding that his schedule overlapped with the APLMS Busking for a Cause, then cited as another alleged mismanagement. We could not reach out to this local performer to get a statement.

As of this writing, Museo Ning Angeles has not given a statement from our inquiry.

by Pocholo Tolentino