Matters of the flesh

After male actors Sandro Muhlach and Gerard Santos, it seems to be the country’s female actors’ turn to come out as former victims of sexual harassment and acts of lasciviousness. 

Actor Rita Daniela’s filing a case of acts of lasciviousness against colleague Archie Alemania has not only invited sympathy from older actor Claudine Barretto, 43, but also the belated admission that she, too, once went through a similar experience. 

Baretto, however, did not mention in her Instagram tirade on 30 October who her violator was. The former girlfriend of the late young actor Rico Yan and estranged wife of actor Raymart Santiago did not give a clue as to what year she was once victimized by a lascivious actor. 

Barretto shared in that same Instagram post some screenshots of her video call with Daniela, where they appeared to be engaged in an emotional discussion. Barretto, though, did not reveal what exactly she told Daniela during the video call.

Baretto asserted that she believes Daniela’s story. However, Barretto seems to be not encouraging Daniela to get Alemania jailed for his condemnable actuations. 

“Apologize before it’s too late, boy...  I have nothing against the perpetrator and am willing to mediate, if Rita wants,” wrote Barretto. 

If Daniela is ready to go to court, it is obvious she wants Alemania behind bars for quite some time. 

Though Barretto simply wants Alemania to own and apologize, she pleaded with the public not to indulge in blaming Daniela for her victimization in Alemania’s lustful hands. 

“Nakikiusap at nagmamakaawa ako (I plead), please let us not victim blame here. Let’s please show her our compassion and love,” Barretto declared.

Alemania has not addressed in public or in social media Daniela’s accusations. 

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Meanwhile, another alleged victim of sexual assault by a male television executive has been assisted by the National Bureau of Investigation in filing with the Department of Justice (DoJ) a case of  lasciviousness against the executive. 

Though the executive has long been named as Cliff Gingco, a news manager of TV5, his alleged victim, a 22-year-old researcher from Batangas, has been protected with his anonymity. 

The complaint stemmed from Gingco’s alleged sexual molestation of the researcher in a motel in August while the young man was under the influence of alcohol. 

Gingco invited the victim for drinks to discuss his aspirations of becoming a news reporter.

In response to the victim’s request for assistance, the NBI summoned Gingco in September. Gingco denied the accusations, but did not submit a counter-affidavit and declined to address questions from the media.

The DoJ prosecutor general will review the complaint to determine if there is probable cause to bring the case to court.

Earlier, the young man’s case reached the attention of TV5 owner, tycoon Manny V. Pangilinan, and ordered Gingco’s firing from TV5 after an internal investigation. 

The young man’s case became widely-known when Sen. Raffy Tulfo presented the researcher anonymously in his radio program whose broadcast studio is in the same building in Mandaluyong City where the TV news center is. 

Tulfo was shocked by the young man’s revelation that the network had not conducted any investigation up to that day that the senator was interviewing the young man without showing him on camera. (The radio program is actually aired simultaneously on Tulfo’s YouTube channel.)

What further got the senator’s ire was his staff disclosure to him that Gingco was at the TV5 news center at that moment but turned down the staff’s invitation for him to go to Tulfo’s radio program to personally answer the researcher’s accusation. 

Gingco told Tulfo’s staff that management has advised him not to respond to inquiries about the researcher’s charges against him. 

Gingco has responded to his DoJ case by suing Senator Tulfo and some TV 5 executives for cyberlibel, according to a report of Jojo Gabinete in the entertainment website PEP.ph.

Included among the respondents were TV5 president Guido Zaballero, OnePH head Sienna Olaso, Mediaquest Holdings president Jane Basas, Radyo5 head Raul dela Cruz and Ian Odette Molina of Wanted sa Radyo, Sen. Tulfo’s radio program.

Also included in the case was the anonymous researcher who has resigned from the network and whose name Gingco is well aware of. 

Gingco has been reported to be married, has children and is active in the choir of his church. 

After this short list of personalities claiming to have been sexually violated by their seniors or by their peers, is the list bound to get longer? 

Muhlach’s alleged violators, GMA7 independent contractors Jojo Nones and Richard Cruz, have been scheduled to be tried in a Pasay City court for rape and lasciviousness. Rape is said to be a non-bailable crime. 

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Daniela and Alemania used to be co-actors in the GMA7 series Widows’ War top-billed by Bea Alonzo and Carla Abellana. Alemania has been announced to be out of the series, following Daniela’s sworn-in complaint. 

Daniela has told the police that Alemania’s carnal behavior towards her begun at the thanksgiving party for Widows’ War hosted by Alonzo in her residence in Quezon City on 9 September. Alonzo, according to Daniela, reprimanded the drunken Alemania when he made a sex-tinged remark to Daniela as soon as she espied her in the party, which Daniela joined around midnight after fulfilling some showbiz livelihood commitments. 

Alemania’s forcing to kiss Daniela in the mouth and touch her breast took place inside Alemania’s van. Daniela has reasoned out that she took Alemania’s offer to drive her home to Bacoor, Cavite at about 2 a.m. because she thought Alemania had sobered up and was making up for his previous disrespectful behavior.