Actor Niño Muhlach, father of Sandro Muhlach, attends the hearing of the Senate committee on public information and mass media. Screengrab from the Senate of the Philippines YouTube
Niño Muhlach said his son Sandro’s alleged abusers have personally apologized for what they did, claiming that they had mistaken what transpired as “consensual.”
Speaking before the Senate committee on public information and mass media’s hearing on Monday, Muhlach said his meeting with Jojo Nones and Richard Dode Cruz took place at the house of GMA Senior Vice President Annette Gozon-Valdes, who invited them over. In that meeting, Nones and Cruz cried and apologized to him, Muhlach told the senators.
It wasn’t clear from the proceedings if Sandro also attended the same meeting.
Both Nones and Cruz, previously identified as “independent contractors” of GMA, were also present during the senate hearing after failing to attend the previous hearing.
Muhlach told the senators that Nones and Cruz apologized to him, saying they thought what they did was “okay lang,” or just alright with his son.
“When they apologized, ang sabi: ‘Sorry talaga, sorry, Niño, kasi akala namin okay lang (We are really sorry, Nino. We thought it was okay),’” he said.
“When they said sorry, syempre naintindihan ko na ‘yun — kung ano ‘yung kwento ng anak ko ‘yun na ‘yun. Akala raw nila okay lang (When they said sorry, of course I immediately understood it. My son’s story, it was that. They thought it was okay),” he further said.
Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada, who is a member of the committee, then asked: “Did they admit to you that they did something untoward?”
“Yes, Sen. But clearly kung okay lang edi wala kami rito sana ngayon. ‘Di ba? At saka hindi sana nag iiyak yung anak ko. Ms. Gozon was our witness during our meeting,” Muhlach said.
(Yes, Sen. But clearly, if it’s okay we wouldn’t be here, right? My son wouldn’t have cried. Ms. Gozon was our witness during our meeting.)
Nones and Cruz were previously subpoenaed by the Senate last August 7 after they failed to appear before the chamber’s proceedings despite prior notice.
For his part, Sandro has submitted a formal complaint to the management of GMA network against the two over what transpired after the network’s gala night on July 20.