ABS-CBN celebrities and personalities weighed in on the sexual harassment and libel lawsuits that Gretchen Fullido filed against her colleagues on October 5 at the Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office.
Fullido’s lawyer Marvin Aceron said in an online statement that his client filed a sexual harassment case against Cheryl Favila and Maricar Asprec when she “alleged that [the two] sent her text messages that were loaded with sexual innuendos, which amounted to requests for sexual favors.”
Meanwhile, news executives Ces Drilon and Venancio Borromeo, as well as reporter Marie Lozano, are facing libel charges after Fullido said that they “besmirched her reputation when they stated that she filed a similar sexual harassment complaint against Favila and Asprec with ABS-CBN management to leverage her employment status with ABS-CBN”.
Since the issue erupted, several other ABS-CBN personalities gave their two cents about Fullido’s allegations.
Actress Iza Calzado took to Twitter last October 8 to commend Fullido for speaking up about the issue. “May this matter be about justice and not about women being pitted against other women,” she said.
— Izadora Calzado (@MissIzaCalzado) October 8, 2018
However, she also added in her statement that she is not in the right place to comment on the issue since she does not know all the facts.
Comedienne Ethel Booba also commented on the issue.
Mahirap magbigay ng opinyon ng di mo alam ano nangyayare. Saka if magbibigay opinyon dapat pinag-iisipan hindi minamadali. Charot! https://t.co/16ZozXzBpo
— Ethel Booba (@IamEthylGabison) October 6, 2018
In another tweet, she asked public’s support for Fullido since she is the victim in the issue.
“Not every women [has] the courage to report it to the authority due to many reasons. Let us support her. Not because she is a woman, because she is the victim here. And for those sexual [harassment] apologist, we are going to assume you’ve done the same thing. Charot!” Ethel wrote.
Not every women have the courage to report it to the authority due to many reasons. Let us support her. Not because she is a woman, because she is the victim here. And for those sexual harrasment apologist, we are going to assume you've done the same thing. Charot! https://t.co/kqQqHSN3cY
— Ethel Booba (@IamEthylGabison) October 7, 2018
Moreover, “Pinoy Big Brother” host Bianca Gonzales said that she admire the courage of the entertainment host/reporter.
“Hanga ako sa tapang ni Ms. Gretchen Fullido. Sana’y lumabas ang katotohanan sa kaso at mabigyan ng hustisya. Nakakalungkot na may taong ginagawa itong isyu ng babae laban sa babae. Sa sitwasyon na ito, puro babae at LGBTQ ang involved, kaya sensitibo talaga,” Gonzales said.
“Yes, women should support women. But when [it’s] women involved in both sides, nawawala ang ‘babae ako’ at nagiging ‘babae tayo’. Mahirap. Ang mga involved lang ang tunay na nakakaalam ng katotohanan. But still, we do our best so that women support women,” she added in another tweet.
Esteemed journalist and ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC) news anchor Karen Davila also voiced her concerns on Twitter. She disclaimed that she is not be taking sides, but she will never tolerate sexual harassment and victim shaming.
“No to sexual harassment. No to any form of victim shaming. Without prejudice to any of my colleagues, these values are eternal to my person,” Davila said.
NO to SEXUAL HARASSMENT. NO to any form of VICTIM SHAMING. Without prejudice to any of my colleagues, these values are eternal to my person.
— Karen Davila (@iamkarendavila) October 7, 2018
Fullido’s friend and former Kapamilya actress Melissa Ricks also posted a photo on Instagram to show support to her beleaguered friend.
“Strong. Brave. Kind. Stood with me in difficult times and I will stand by her. It takes a lot of strength and courage to stand up for your rights, and you did. proud of you,” Ricks wrote on Instagram attached to a photo of her and Fullido.
The ones facing charges have already released their statements regarding the issue and defending themselves.
ABS-CBN management has also issued a press statement saying that they “expect all parties to allow the legal process to take its course”.
For her part, Fullido asked the public to pray for her. “All I can say is these are public records now. The public can do their research and verify. Please just pray for me in these difficult times,” PEP.ph quoted Fullido as saying.
