Have the tables been turned?

Will it soon be the turn of network independent contractors Jojo Nones and Richard “Dode” Cruz to go to court and sue actor Sandro Muhlach for grave slander, or a more serious offense, based on their assumption that the Department of Justice (DoJ) will resolve Muhlach complaints against them in their favor? 

The lawyer of the tandem, Margie Abraham-Garduce, has been liberally sending to social media outlets (primarily to entertainment portal PEP) copies of the affidavits between the two camps as submitted to the DoJ. The lawyer and the indie contractors have been pointing out that all the accusations made by Muhlach are not validated by the medico-legal reports submitted by Muhlach’s camp. Those unsustained accusations are in the counter-affidavit they have submitted to the DoJ. 

“There is NO evidence to indict us for rape through sexual assault,” Nones and Cruz asserted to the Troika columnists of PEP.

Muhlach’s accusations are “baseless, malicious and frivolous,” they said. “They are all fabrications of Sandro.”

Their lawyer has asked the DoJ to dismiss the case since Muhlach’s lawyer, Czarina Quintanilla-Raz, has decided not to contest any point made in the independent contractors’ counter-affidavit. Dismissal of the case by the DoJ could lead to the reinstatement of Nones and Cruz as independent contractors of GMA 7, which suspended them after Muhlach filed a complaint of sexual molestation against them in July. 

They have not only lost their livelihood but also their reputation and dignity as professional creatives in the TV industry of over than 20 years. Nones was detained at the Senate’s holding room for a few days due to Sen. Jinggoy Ejercito’s citing him for contempt at the Senate investigation in aid of legislation. 

The senator believed Nones lied in his answers to some of his (Ejercito’s) questions based on the results of an investigation independently conducted by GMA7 in response to Muhlach’s complaints.

Cruz had to be hospitalized for elevated blood pressure during the hearing. If the DOJ resolves the case in their favor, they can be emboldened to sue for damages.

As of this writing, though, the DoJ has not resolved the case, though the tandem and the lawyer seem to already jubilating that the resolution will be in their favor. 

Abraham-Garduce has really become a favorite legal counsel for showbiz personalities. Even as she’s not quite done yet with her defending Nones and Cruz, there’s a news item that says actor Ken Chan would hire her for some financial complexities he has gotten himself into. The buzz is that she will accept the job. 

Chan seems to be the actor in a “blind news” (no names mentioned) who got his role in a drama series written off so he  could allegedly go in hiding abroad before the police could get to him with a warrant of arrest. Some people close to him say that he is still abroad on a long-scheduled vacation with the family. They admit though that the actor is the subject of legal complaints of some people about certain financial transactions with him. 

The lady lawyer, though, has not announced that she has indeed accepted the actor’s case. She might be overworked, as she’s also the lawyer-spokesperson of the Jalosjos family who are about to fully activate again their company Television and Production Exponents (TAPE), which is gearing to produce shows again online and on TV. It wasn’t long ago that they were producing the noontime show Eat Bulaga!, now produced by the trio of Tito, Vic and Joey on TV5 where they are also the show hosts. 

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What’s wrong with a retouch?

After admitting that he underwent surgical enhancements, Stell Ajero of SB19 reminded his fans to “ignore” the bashers who try to insult him by pointing out the procedures he had undergone.

Stell addressed the criticism during his recent live session on his social media as he urged the fans not give the bashers any attention or give their platforms any “clout.”

“’Stell nagparetoke,’ napakaluma, wala bang bago? ‘Stell retokado ang ilong,’ oh tapos? Tapos ‘yung iba pagtatabihin ‘yung picture noon saka picture ngayon. Marunong rin naman ako mag-edit, mas maganda pa (‘Stell had a retouch,’ that’s so old news, is there anything else? ‘Stell had a nose job,’ so what? And then others would put my old and new pictures side by side. I also know how to edit, even better than others),” he said.

“Kahit anong sabihin mo kung wala naman silang pakialam kung hindi sila makikinig parang mapapagod lang tayo nang kasasabi nang kasasabi. So kapag hindi natin pinansin mafefeel nila na parang ‘Ay wala palang effect,’ sila na lang ‘yung mapapagod so hayaan na lang natin sila (Whatever other people would say, if nobody cared about it, or listened to their bashing, they will just tire of saying it soon enough. So if we don’t give the bashers any thought, they will feel that, ‘Oh, the bashing has no effect,’ then they will leave us alone, so let’s just let them be),” added the singer.

Ajero stresses that he knows that what the bashers are doing is “wrong,” but that’s their main goal to elicit reactions so the fans should not give them the satisfaction.

Ajero went on: “I know mali ‘yung ginagawa nila, mali ‘yung bullying, mali ‘yung bashing. Pero kasi tayo lang ‘yung mapapagod kung paulit ulit nating sinasaway. At mas naano pa sila kasi ‘yon ‘yung goal nila asarin ka…‘yung mag-react kayo sa mga post nila, ‘yung platform nila mabibigyan ng clout (I know what they are doing is wrong; that it’s bullying and bashing, but we don’t need to spend too much energy trying to stop them. They would just be emboldened if we mind them because their goal is to provoke you. Reacting to their posts or platforms will just give them clout),” he said.

Stell asserted that he feels “happy and proud” whenever he would see old images of himself, even if the bashers use them to insult him.

The SB19 lead vocalist and choreographer emphasized that he understands that the fans want to protect SB19, but they cannot totally do away with bashing so they should just try to be the bigger person.

Stell currently serves as one of the celebrity judges in the new season of The Voice Kids Philippines.