The Philippines is imposing a “weed bond” on two members of One Direction.
The Bureau of Immigration has asked Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson to post bonds worth more than £3,000 each, which will be forfeited if they are caught using or impliedly promoting illegal drugs during a concert in Manila this weekend.
It follows a request by the local Anti-Drugs Advocate group to the bureau to strictly scrutinise the band’s concert permit following a video that circulated on the internet of Zayn and Louis purportedly smoking marijuana.
The two bandmates are required to post 200,000 pesos (£3,000) bond and 20,000 pesos (£300) processing fee each through their producer, bureau spokeswoman Elaine Tan said.
The pair – along with Harry Styles, Liam Payne and Niall Horan – will perform at the seaside Mall of Asia Concert Grounds as part of their On The Road Again tour.
“The condition is intended to protect the public interest should the band members commit any violation during their stay in the Philippines,” Tan said.
She said the band will be prevented from performing if the producer fails to post the bond before the concert.
The producer went to the Immigration Bureau to post the bond and fee, said Christine Ching, a spokeswoman of Anti-Drugs Advocate.
The Filipino group is also awaiting a response to their petition asking a local court to direct government agencies to ensure that the band members are drug-free. It also urged the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency to send officers to monitor the band.
The group is concerned about the popular band’s influence on Filipino youth, Ching added.
“We want to see their pure, raw, untainted talent,” she said.
She said the concert producers, during a meeting with her group, expressed willingness to cooperate and give drug enforcers and Anti-Drugs Advocate access passes to allow them to monitor the band members.
Following the leak of the video last year, One Direction’s Liam Payne tweeted an apology, saying: “I love my boys and maybe things have gone a little sideways. I apologise for that.”
He said: “We are only in our 20s and we all do stupid things at this age.”
After Manila, One Direction is scheduled to perform in Jakarta, Indonesia, on March 25.
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