Sen. Jinggoy Estrada. Image: Facebook/Senate of the Philippines
Sen. Jinggoy Estrada was on the receiving end of criticism, as netizens expressed their dismay over his supposed “harsh” and “insensitive” approach toward Sandro Muhlach and Gerald Santos at the Senate hearing investigating sexual abuse in the entertainment industry.
Estrada was present at the hearing of the Senate committee on public information and mass media held last Aug. 19, where Muhlach and Santos testified on their respective experiences of sexual assault that they suffered from different individuals from the same network, GMA, 19 years apart.
During the hearing, on Estrada’s prodding, Muhlach and Santos took turns in narrating how they were sexually harassed.
Santos revealed that he was raped as a minor by a former musical director of GMA whom he did not name.
Estrada’s way of questioning, however, irked netizens, with some pointing to the senator’s seeming lack of sympathy toward the alleged victims.
“Why is Jinggoy so harsh?” one Gracie Villanueva asked in a comment on the Senate’s Facebook page. “Jinggoy [is] so unsympathetic to Mr. Santos. So disappointing.”
“May I remind these senators to be mindful of their ethics during hearings?” Facebook user Hannah Laureen See Maglalang wrote.
“Napaka-insensitive ng pag-handle ni Sen. Jinggoy sa victim,” one Min Erva stated.
Screenshots from the Senate’s Facebook post
Screenshots from Facebook/INQUIRER.net
Estrada has yet to comment on this as of writing.
Estrada earlier cited for contempt Jojo Nones—one of the two independent GMA contractors accused by Sandro of sexual abuse—for denying that he offered to donate money to a chosen charity by Sandro’s father, actor Niño Muhlach, as settlement.
Nones and his fellow contractor Richard Cruz were named by Sandro as respondents in the administrative complaint that he filed before GMA, and at the Department of Justice (DOJ).