Katrina seeks public hearing on sex video scandal

MANILA, Philippines – After her tearful and much publicized show of remorse and wrath at being involved in a sex video scandal with a celebrity doctor, sexy young actress Katrina Halili wants the Senate hearing on the issue set for today to be open to the public.

In a letter to Sen. Jamby Madrigal, chair of the Senate committee on youth, women and family relations, Halili’s lawyers Raymund Palad and Mamyrlito Tan said the hearing should be made public because the issue was not just about their client “but the exploitation of women in the videos.”

“While we do recognize the sensitivity of the issues that will be heard during the said hearing, the matter has become public interest, necessitating a public hearing,” they said.

“We agree that some matters need to be heard through executive session; however, the same has to be addressed and resolved by the committee only if, and when, an issue is raised during the hearing that may involve other personalities so as to protect also their rights to privacy,” the lawyers added.

Kho’s lawyers Lorna Kapunan and Irene Joy Garcia said their client is willing to face the Senate inquiry but wants an executive session so as not to aggravate the “embarrassment, pain and suffering that certain parties have had to experience as a result of the unauthorized dissemination and distribution of the very private videos.”

Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago said she could not understand why Kho would want an executive session.

“Normally in trial court we do that. In rape cases, normally we go into closed-door trial when it is the victim herself who is testifying on the actual process of being raped. That should be a valid call for privacy in favor of the so-called victim. It also should be a closed door meeting because the members of the committee will have to watch those videos to be able to form an intelligent opinion,” Santiago said.

Santiago expressed belief Kho “has a personality disorder, but he has to deal with it on his own because I cannot possibly grapple with the problem that the person himself is capable of solving.”

Madrigal said she is willing to grant the requests of both Halili and Kho. This means Halili’s testimony will be heard by the public while Kho’s appearance will be in private.

No playing of videos

Madrigal said there is no need to play the sex videos during the hearing.

Senators Pia Cayetano and Manuel Roxas II also said there was no need to play the videos to avoid further exploitation of the victims.

Cayetano lauded the decision of the House of Representatives to fast-track the approval of the “Anti-Cyberboso Bill,” the counterpart of Senate Bill 3267 or the proposed “Anti-Video Voyeurism Act of 2009,” which she authored.

Cayetano suggested that the Senate prioritize SB 1100 of Santiago, which already passed the committee level and could be scheduled for plenary debate anytime soon.

Santiago said criticism against the Senate for conducting a hearing despite the investigations by various agencies was valid.

“It may be superfluous at this time because actually we already have a bill that has already been subject of a committee report. I don’t think that anyone is seriously against my bill, so it can easily pass second reading, which is the period of debate, and then we’ll go to voting,” Santiago said.

Careful

At Malacañang, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita urged senators to tread carefully in its investigation of the sex video scandal even as he pushed for sex education for school children.

He declined to comment on calls by various sectors for the Senate to abandon its probe on the scandal or hold it behind closed doors.

“It’s really the call of Senate to follow their own rules and I’m sure they know the clamor of the public over the conduct of such hearing,” Ermita told a news briefing at the Palace.

“I’d rather they just consider what they think are the sensitivities involved,” he said.

He said sex education could also help prevent unwanted pregnancies.

“For example, why do you need to practice sanitation? Why do you need to understand why sex in certain time is admissible or not, that (sex education) should be encouraged,” Ermita said.

“We’re just so religious, we’re Catholics but in other countries, in Europe and in the United States, it starts in school at the lower grades,” he said.

When asked whether Mrs. Arroyo has endorsed such a move, he said: “Yes, that’s for the benefit of our younger people.”

Drug users?

Kho and Halili are expected to appear before the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) tomorrow to explain allegations that they were high on drugs during their sexual tryst that was caught on video.

Kho’s mother Irene, who had accused Halili on TV of luring her son into drugs, is also being invited by PDEA.

PDEA-Complaints Reaction Unit chief Maj. Val Lopez said that a certain Omar, Halili’s alleged supplier of illegal drugs, would be invited later.

He said it would be up to Halili, Kho, and Kho’s mother if they would allow themselves to be subjected to drug tests.

“We have been waiting for the perfect moment to validate this information. This incident with Katrina and Kho provided us the opportunity to finally step in and probe the extent of illegal drug use in show business,” PDEA director general Dionisio Santiago said.

“Imagine the influence of these people, nakakahiya (it’s a shame),” Santiago said.

“People tend not to realize that drug abuse is as bad if not worse than drug trafficking. Issues like this are precisely why the DDB is relentlessly pursuing the demand reduction strategy,” Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) chairman Vicente Sotto III said.

New deadline

The National Bureau of Investigation has given Kho until tomorrow to either appear before the bureau or submit a counter-affidavit on the allegations against him by Halili.

Halili is pursuing a case against Kho for psychological violence under Section 5 of Republic Act 9262 or the Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act, the NBI said.

The new deadline was prompted by a request from Kho’s lawyer Jose Paolo Patajo.

Kho was first subpoenaed last May 21 and told to appear before the NBI on May 22. However, only his lawyers showed up at the NBI.

NBI Director Nestor Mantaring said Vicki Belo, through her lawyer, submitted yesterday a three-page affidavit, but declined to divulge the details of the affidavit.

Meanwhile, Eric Chua, who has been suspected of uploading the video on YouTube, was again a no-show at the NBI yesterday.

Video peddlers ‘amateur’

The peddlers of Kho’s sex videos, who had even tried to extort millions from the celebrity doctor, are “amateurs,” Optical Media Board chairman Edu Manzano said yesterday.

“These people are amateurs. They don’t know the (piracy) industry,” Manzano said.

Manzano said Kho confessed an alleged P4-million blackmail attempt by a certain Chris.

“That’s (P4 million) not the going price here in the Philippines,” Manzano stressed.

Manzano noted that even master copies of top-grossing and newly released Hollywood films don’t fetch higher than P50,000 in the Philippines. – With Reinir Padua, Sandy Araneta, Paolo Romero, and Michael Punongbayan