Filipino electronic producer Eyedress (né Idris Vicuña) allegedly punched local illustrator Dex Fernandez (a.k.a Garapata) at a Makati bar Saturday evening (06/16). According to Fernandez in a statement sent to Scout Magazine, Vicuña punched him in the face more than once, leaving "fractures in his nose and right cheek" after Fernandez accidentally bumped into him while dancing.

UPDATE: In an email to Bandwagon, Fernandez shared the current status of his condition. After an examination by an EENT specialist, the street artist discovered that he needs to go through "surgery (under general anesthesia) to correct a deviated and fractured septum, which explained the breathing difficulty."

"A bigger concern was my fractured maxillary – or the area beneath the eyes – which was fractured and sunken," Fernandez adds. "We also noticed a large bruise behind the ear which wasn’t noticed by the ER doctors. There is still pain, and I still have breathing difficulties due to the damage to my septum. I will have to undergo surgery soon before the fractures start to heal without the bones being aligned first."

Fernandez also shared an account by the witness Julian Delos Santos. "I was behind Dex and Eyedress was to my left. While Dex continued to dance, Eyedress and I moved to the side, away from Dex. Then Eyedress started to move – I am not sure if he wanted to go out or just wanted to shift to another space. That’s when he found himself closer to Dex, who was still dancing while facing the DJ’s booth. Dex accidentally hit Eyedress – Eyedress’ back towards Dex and the DJ’s booth – with his hand, but I’m not sure which part since I was behind Eyedress."

“A short while later, I was still dancing when I noticed there was some commotion," Delos Santos says. "The next thing I saw was Eyedress punching Dex, with Dex already facing the crowd, his back towards the DJ’s booth. Dex’s hands were up towards his face already,  still standing but sort of immobile. I started to pull Eyedress’ jacket’s sleeve while shouting his name. Then Eyedress just stopped and went outside."

Fernandez sought medical attention at Makati Medical Center, where the fractures on his face were confirmed through a CT scan. "There’s also a small laceration on the same cheek and darkening around my eyes. I was advised to come back for a follow up check-up."

The street artist added that Vicuña had sent him a private message while he was at the emergency room, but he did not reply.

Eyedress had not responded to Bandwagon's request for comment at press time.

Read Fernandez's full statement to Bandwagon below.

The incident happened last June 17, between 1am to 2am at Dulo, a bar on P. Guanzon St., Poblacion, Makati. It was Dulo’s 1st anniversary party.

I was dancing in front of the dj’s booth when I saw a friend, Julian Delos Santos. We greeted each other and embraced, and danced a bit. Later on, I continued dancing by myself, still facing the DJ’s booth with Julian behind me. Later on, Eyedress entered Dulo and joined Julian, standing to her left. Both of them were behind me. 

According to Julian: “I saw Eyedress entering Dulo, then he walked towards me. I asked him how he will go home, since he seemed so drunk, but I couldn’t hear his answer. So I continued to dance while Eyedress kinda swayed and bobbed his head, still beside me. I was behind Dex and Eyedress was to my left. While Dex continued to dance, Eyedress and I moved to the side, away from Dex. Then Eyedress started to move – I am not sure if he wanted to go out or just wanted to shift to another space. That’s when he found himself closer to Dex, who was still dancing while facing the DJ’s booth. Dex accidentally hit Eyedress –Eyedress’ back towards Dex and the DJ’s booth - with his hand, but I’m not sure which part since I was behind Eyedress.”

“A short while later, I was still dancing when I noticed there was some commotion. The next thing I saw was Eyedress punching Dex, with Dex already facing the crowd, his back towards the DJ’s booth. Dex’s hands were up towards his face already,  still standing but sort of immobile. I started to pull Eyedress’ jacket’s sleeve while shouting his name. Then Eyedress just stopped and went outside."

It happened so fast. All I remember was dancing by myself,  with Julian and Eyedress behind me. After a while, I felt a blow to the back of my head so I turned around. I saw Eyedress, apparently saying something to me which I couldn’t understand, while punching my face. I can’t remember exactly how many times he punched me, but definitely more than just once. I was momentarily stunned but still remained standing.

I felt a bit disoriented, closed to fainting. Then, I felt some fluid running down my nose. I touched my nose with my hands and saw blood, so I started to tell people my nose is bleeding. People rushed to help me, putting ice on the bridge of my nose while I used my towel to wipe the blood. The music continued. I kept asking where Eyedress went. I want to know why he punched me. But I didn’t know where he was.

For the rest of the night, my nose would continue to bleed, stopping intermittently for short periods of time. People tried to put ice on the dark red mark below my right eye which also had a small laceration.

A few hours later, I asked a friend to bring me to the ER because the nosebleed wouldn’t stop, and my face was starting to feel numb. I also noticed dark bruises under my eyes. My friend also noticed something strange with my nose’s profile. She took some photos to show me.

At the Makati Medical Center ER, the doctors examined me and recommended a CT scan since they were concerned by the continuous nosebleed and the multiple bruising. Even if it cost quite a lot, I agreed just to be on the safe side since I was starting to get alarmed.

They also recommended an EENT doctor to thoroughly examine my facial injuries. On June 19, I was examined by the EENT Doctor. Her findings confirmed my worst fears: That I need surgery (under general anesthesia) to correct a deviated and fractured septum which explained the breathing difficulty. A bigger concern was my fractured maxillary – or the area beneath the eyes – which was fractured and sunken. We also noticed a large bruise behind the ear which wasn’t noticed by the ER doctors.  

There is still pain, and I still have breathing difficulties due to the damage to my septum. I will have to undergo surgery soon before the fractures start to heal without the bones being aligned first.