Gerald Santos. Screengrab from Senate YouTube and his Instagram
For the first time since the incident 19 years ago, singer-actor Gerald Santos publicly admitted that he was raped by a former musical director of a television network.
Speaking during the hearing of the Senate committee on public information and mass media which is investigating the cases of sexual abuse in the entertainment industry, Santos opened up about the abuse that he suffered at the hands of the unnamed musical director.
“Ako po ay hindi po na-harass, hindi po na-abuse,” Santos said as he tried to keep his emotions in check as he answered the senators’ questions. “Ako ay na-rape po. Na-rape po ako, your honor.”
Senator Jinggoy Estrada then said: “There are a lot of definitions of rape. How did you say it was rape?”
“Handa po akong ikwento dito ang nangyari, pero ako po ay natatakot na baka po ako ay balikan ng mga taong ito,” he added.
The “Pinoy Pop Superstar” alum said the incident occurred in 2005 when he was only 15 years old. He, however, did not name the musical director who committed the act.
“For 19 years kineep ko lamang ito dahil sa takot ko nga po, sa kahihiyan. Hiyang-hiya po talaga ako lalo na noon dahil ‘yung grupo na nasa loob ay parang dini-dismiss lang nila ‘yung sinabi ko, na parang mag-move on ka na lang kasi kalakaran ‘yan dito,” Santos also said.
The singer-actor said that at the time, when he tried to complain against his abuser, several powerful individuals merely dismissed his claims and even advised him to just “move on,” and was even accused of being homophobic.
“I was only 15 years old at that time your honors kaya wala pa po akong lakas ng loob noon. Contestant pa lang po ako noon. Kaya di ko nasabi agad… Sa parents ko na iyak nalang ng iyak. Kinamatayan na ng lolo ko sa sama ng loob nya kasi di po ako nabigyan ng katarungan po,” she said.
Santos took to social media recently saying he is sympathizing with Sandro Muhlach, as he recalled that he was once also a victim of sexual abuse and hoped that the latter would “get the justice he was denied then.”
While he had previously admitted to having been sexually abused, he did not delve into the extent of his abuse, only that he had tried to seek the support of the network, but such efforts only earned him fewer projects until eventually he was “virtually banned,” as his manager declared recently.
Legal remedies
Santos, who finally gave in to his emotions when asked by Estrada if he was thinking of filing charges, said that he has long been wanting to do that, if not for his fears of repercussions on his career and personal safety.
“Ang tagal ko na po talagang gusto, kaya lang natatakot po talaga ako at walapo akong means. Kaya ako po ay naninik-loob sa inyo… After po nung nagreklamo ako sa GMA, natanggal po ako sa GMA, halos gumapang po kami…,” he said.
“Dumating sa point na gusto ko na rin tapusin ang buhay ko. Hirap na hirap po ako kung pano ko itataguyod ang pamilya ko,” he added.
Estrada also asked a resource person from the Department of Justice what legal remedies are still available for Santos given that considerable length of time has passed since the commission of the alleged crime.
The resource person from DOJ then said that ideally the prescription period for heinous crimes such as rape is 20 years, but since he was a minor at the time, the law may be more lenient with him.
INQUIRER.net has reached out to GMA for comment, but it has yet to give a response.