Dustin Yu. Image: Instagram/@dustinyuu
Amid celebrities speaking up against sexual harassment, Kapuso Dustin Yu recounted his own experience of having suffered a policeman’s inappropriate behavior while they were inside an MRT train.
Yu first talked about the incident in a November 2023 interview, revealing he was only 18 years old when it transpired.
“Sumakay ako ng MRT, first time ko. Tapos ‘yung dalawang kamay ko nakasabit sa sabitan. Tapos parang may pulis na—pulis talaga, naka-uniform—pinasok niya ‘yung kamay niya sa bulsa ko,” he recalled at the time, as per Philippine Entertainment Portal.
(My first time to ride the MRT, and I was just holding the metal bars. And then there was this policeman — in his uniform — who inserted his hand inside my pocket.)
“So ako, nanginig ako kasi parang pulis ka, tapos bata pa ako. Talagang kinapa-kapa niya ‘yung private part ko,” he said. “So sobrang tagal kong nag-recover do’n sa experience na ‘yun. Siguro one and a half year.”
(I trembled because he was a policeman, and I was just a kid then. He really groped my private parts. It took me a long time to recover from that experience, about a year and a half.)
Yu spoke again about the incident at the “Regal Legacy” event last Saturday, Sept. 21, after he was asked if the recent sexual abuse case of fellow actor Sandro Muhlach reminded him of his traumatic experience.
“Ngayon ko lang naisip pero dati hindi, hindi masyado… ‘Yung kay Sandro, nabalitaan ko naman siya for sure. Siyempre, na-feel ko. Hindi ko rin alam ang buong kwento, pero na-feel ko rin talaga. Sana lang hindi totoo,” Yu said, as quoted by Bandera.
(I’ve just thought about it. I have heard about what happened to Sandro. I feel for him. I don;t know the whole story, but I really feel for him. I hope that didn’t happen to him.)
“Yun talaga, kapag nandu’n ka na sa moment na ‘yun, maninigas ka na lang talaga,” he continued. “Hindi mo alam ang gagawin mo. ‘Yun ang nangyari sa akin.”
(When you are already in that moment, you will just freeze. You will be immobilized. That’s what happened to me.)
Yu added that out of fear, he was not able to report the incident to the police. He then noted that if such harassment were to happen to him again, he would speak up and fight for himself.
“Alam ko na ‘yung dapat at mali, at saka ngayon natuto na ako du’n. Hindi ko na hahayaan ‘yun na mangyari,” he stressed.
(I already know what is right and wrong, and I have learned from that experience. I will never allow that to happen again.)
Yu is best known for his acting roles in the TV series “Black Rider” and “Mano po Legacy: The Family Fortune,” and in the film “Shake Rattle & Roll Extreme.”
INQUIRER.net reached out to the Philippine National Police for comment, but has not received a reply yet as of this writing.