EDITORIAL — Shining the spotlight

In the United States, disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein has become the face of sexual abuse and rape culture in the entertainment industry. The hashtag #MeToo showed the magnitude of the problem.

The MeToo movement, however, did not catch fire in the Philippines, despite widespread suspicions that similar assaults occurred in show business. Victims were probably worried about public humiliation and the adverse impact on their career in entertainment. They probably feared retaliation from those who sexually assaulted them. Others may have also worried that their complaints would go nowhere.

Now a young, aspiring actor has decided to come out and shine the spotlight on the problem. Sandro Muhlach and his relatives have not only allowed his identity to be known, but have openly testified before the Senate that two television independent talent contractors allegedly drugged and raped him after a GMA Network party.

Muhlach’s father, actor Niño Muhlach, told the Senate that Jojo Nones and Richard Cruz had met with him and apologized, and offered to donate to any charity picked by the actor. The two contractors did not deny this when confronted by Niño Muhlach at the Senate last week. Yesterday, however, perhaps after being apprised of the legal implications, Nones denied offering any “settlement.” This drew a scolding from Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, chair of the Senate committee on public information and mass media and himself a member of a show biz family, who moved for Nones’ detention for contempt.

Earlier yesterday, Nones and Cruz were charged with rape and 13 counts of acts of lasciviousness before the Department of Justice by the National Bureau of Investigation. Muhlach has also filed an administrative complaint against the two contractors with GMA.

Sandro Muhlach’s decision to come out appears to have emboldened other victims of sexual abuse. At yesterday’s Senate hearing, former GMA singer Gerald Santos testified that he was raped when he was just 15 years old by a musical director in 2005. He said he complained to the TV network, but he was later terminated. Estrada noted that the musical director was also terminated by GMA.

Santos said after losing his job, he kept his ordeal to himself, out of fear and shame, and the feeling that the rape was the “kalakaran” or norm in the industry. He struggled to make a living and at one point, he said he wanted to kill himself. His parents could only weep and his grandfather died of heartbreak over their failure to get justice, Santos told the Senate.

As in any criminal activity, failure to bring perpetrators to justice guarantees a repeat of the offense and impunity. Victims of sexual abuse who muster the courage to come out and narrate their ordeal deserve support.