Filipino Jailhouse 'Thriller' Has Chilling Background Story

The first time we saw this video of Filipino inmates dancing to Thriller, we remember thinking, "... Dude, how were 1500 inmates at a Cebu prison coaxed into a coordinated syncopated jamboree?"

We didn't have long to wonder. Security consultant Byron Garcia, the force behind it, isn't exactly shy. With a near-comical audacity, Garcia uploaded the video onto YouTube himself, along with a shit-ton of other coordinated nightmares, including I Will Follow Him from Sister Act.

While he totes the Filipino jail house rock as a rehabilitative measure, a deeper look reveals a streak less savory.

NewTeeVee dropped the following caption from a segment on the story: "Garcia runs the jail like his personal S&M dungeon, and he doesn't care if you know it. Why should he? His sister is governor and his dad is a senator. You can't touch him."

Confirming that, Beyond Madison Avenue reports that the guy even tattoos "Garcia" to the flesh of female inmates.

In an interview, Garcia admits the prisoners weren't crazy about becoming stars: "These prisoners were all hard-headed. So, well we, we, did some, ya know, uh, some disciplinary measures."

The Marquis de Sade would positively beam. NewTeeVee nailed it in saying that "At worst, it's a voyeuristic peep show in an ongoing prisoner rights abuse case."

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Comment by Angela Natividad on August 17, 2007 at 8:22am: Sunny - hah, I see your point about Philippine culture, but not so fast! It's many a time I've been forced to dance and sing against my will.

Your view might be different from mine, considering you currently reside in the Philippines and I don't.

An onlooker's view of the goings-on in that country gives me a skeptical opinion over whether a person like Garcia would really care whether the government was watching him misbehave (if indeed he is).

Comment by Sunny Cervantes on August 17, 2007 at 3:51am: I had uploaded this video a few days ago. But, I was very surprised to read this article.

We do not have a senator surnamed Garcia. Yes, Byron Garcia's sister is the current governor of Cebu. Their father is a retired judge.

I've seen the tattoos. In the Philippines, it is usual for inmates to have tattoos. Some get it willingly. Others are forced. Whether those female inmates were forced to get the tattoos is something that needs to be verified.

I'm not saying it's not true. I'm saying the reports have a lot of inaccuracies. Given that, the possibility that those tattoos were misconstrued by the original author of the article exists.

The video has already been reported here by leading Filipino television networks. It has gotten the attention of the Malacanang Palace, seat of our government.

Given the amount of attention the video garnered on the internet and the media, I doubt if the reports cited above are true. The truth would've come out because there's too much publicity here right now with those videos.

As for how they were coaxed to dance? Philippine culture is such that you do not need to do much arm twisting to get anyone to dance or sing. :)