A lawmaker on Friday has blasted the handling of the recent “Wattah Wattah” festival in San Juan City, attributing the reported rowdy behavior of some of the city’s residents to “failure of leadership.”

Senator Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito — a former mayor of San Juan — expressed sadness on the incident, saying that San Juaneños are not like that as he contrasted his experience overseeing the festival with the recent events.

He argued that a lack of preparation and enforcement led to the problems.

“Before, I personally had those who caused disturbances and sprayed water on people going to work arrested,” Ejercito said.

The senator also dismissed claims by current Mayor Francis Zamora that outsiders might have been responsible for the chaos.

“This is a product of his imagination to cover up for the lapses of his leadership,” said Ejercito, who also urged the local government of San Juan to “stop looking for others to blame” and take responsibility.

“It’s really a failure. Looking for others to blame to cover up. That’s laughable; no one in San Juan would believe that,” the lawmaker said.

Ejercito also pointed to his own tenure as mayor (2001-2010) as an example of successful festival management.

“Under my administration and Mayor Guia’s, there were hardly any incidents during the fiesta,” said the senator as he described implementing rules and parameters, including limiting water dousing times and locations.

Meanwhile, a delivery rider, Eustaquio Rapal, filed a criminal complaint against an individual involved in the festival’s disturbances. This legal action highlights the potential consequences for those who disrupt the festivities.