Chris Brown Forbidden to Leave the Philippines over Contract Dispute

Chris Brown reportedly cannot leave the Philippines due to a contract dispute with the Iglesia ni Cristo and its Maligaya Development Corporation, the Philippines News Agency reported.

Due to these issues, the government has barred the 26-year-old singer from departing until the Bureau of Immigration clears him.

Elaine Tan, the spokeswoman for the Bureau, stated that Brown was on the Bureau's "lookout bulletin," Being on the bulletin means that the Bureau will "take prudent steps to verify on the status of the criminal case against the subjects. If the concerned agency raises no objection to the departure, then we will allow the subject to leave."

Brown performed in the Philippines on Tuesday night. Before he was scheduled to leave the country on a private jet to Hong Kong on Wednesday morning, government officials stopped him for a dispute that occurred last year.

The religious group Iglesia ni Cristo claimed that Brown, who was scheduled to perform in the Philippines last New Year's Eve but canceled due to passport issues, owes them money for promoting the gig.

The concert was supposed to be held at the 55,000-seat Philippine Arena, which is managed by the Maligaya Development Corporation. The group went to the Philippine Department of Justice for an injunction to prevent Brown from leaving.

Brown must now pay the money he allegedly owes. He could see a clearance certificate, which would give him permission to leave under the Department of Justice's consent, the New York Daily News reported.