Niño Muhlach became emotional upon recalling and sharing what his son, Sandro Muhlach, has gone through from his alleged abusers during a Senate Committee hearing on Wednesday, August 7.
"Nakakasama lang talaga ng loob dahil kung kaya nilang gawin sa isang pamilya na talagang nakilala ang kontribusyon sa industriyang ito, what more sa iba? What more sa baguhan?" Muhlach said during the committee hearing.
The Senate Committee on Public Information and Mass Media, led by committee Chairman Senator Robin Padilla, conducted an inquiry in relation to complaints of abuse and harassment.
A one-minute break was necessary because Muhlach's blood pressure increased as he became emotional recounting his son's experiences.
Muhlach's frustration grew as the two accused appeared to be contradicting the true events in their public statements and press releases.
"Kung sino pa 'yung may sala, 'yun pa 'yung nagagawang mambaligtad ng istorya," said Muhlach.
It will be recalled that Sandro filed a sexual harassment case with the NBI and a formal complaint with GMA Network against the two accused.
According to Niño, it was his youngest child, Alonzo Muhlach, who first learned from Sandro about the alleged abuse incident.
"Sinabihan daw siya ng kuya niya na, 'Bro, sana huwag mangyari sa iyo 'yung nangyari sa akin,'” Muhlach said.
Atty. Annette Gozon-Valdes, Senior Vice President for Programming, Talent Management, Worldwide, and Support Group at GMA Network, attended the hearing.
Gozon-Valdes firmly reiterated that GMA does not condone and tolerate any acts of sexual abuse or harassment. Additionally, the team presented their Code of Conduct, along with their policies and procedures related to sexual harassment, to the committee.
"We immediately issued a preventive suspension order to the two accused," Gozon-Valdes stated in response to the inquiry about the actions taken by the network.
"We kept things confidential para sa well-being ng family at ni Sandro Muhlach," she added.
The GMA Executive clarified that the two accused are not regular employees but are independent contractors whose skills and expertise are highly specialized. However, the methods and manner in which they perform their tasks or job are not directly controlled or supervised by GMA.
"Despite the fact that they are independent contractors, we can still take jurisdiction over the HR complaint filed by Sandro Muhlach and we can still apply our Code of Conduct to this case," Gozon-Valdes said.
Sandro Muhlach was not able to attend the hearing and was represented by his father instead.
Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada nearly proposed issuing a subpoena for Sandro due to his absence. However, the NBI clarified that the victim was unable to attend because he was still experiencing trauma and undergoing counseling sessions.
Moreover, the Senate panel ordered a subpoena against Jojo Nones and Richard Cruz, who were identified as the alleged abusers of the artist.
