Atty. Maggie Abraham-Garduque, the legal counsel for two independent contractors of GMA, has denied the sexual harassment allegations filed by actor Sandro Muhlach.
“At the onset naman sinabi namin na there is an absolute denial of the allegations being accused of our clients. So may denial talaga,” Garduque stated.
The accused contractors, who were subpoenaed by the NBI Public Corruption Division, did not appear on Friday to provide their statements. Instead, they submitted a Joint Counter Affidavit, firmly denying the accusations.
“The NBI is still processing the evidence, so this has not yet been considered a formal case,” Garduque added.
She also mentioned that the malicious reports have severely affected her clients’ reputations and mental health.
“Kung kilala niyo naman itong dalawa mga clients namin, they’ve been in the television industry for more than 30 years. Naging malinis po ang reputasyon. So this is very destroying to their reputation, sobrang nakakaapekto sa mental health nila ngayon,” Garduque emphasized.
According to Sandro’s father, Niño, a psychological assessment conducted by the NBI Behavioral Science Division revealed that the incident had traumatized his son.
“Syempre affected pa rin. May depression, konting depression pati ‘yung pagkain niya naapektuhan, pagtulog. Pero hopefully in the coming days, sana mag-improve,” Niño shared.
Niño also noted that the Senate hearing held on Wednesday, where the network expressed its willingness to cooperate with the investigation, had been a significant help.
He said that it would be up to his son to decide whether to return to acting.
“Whenever he feels like working again. Nagsabi naman ang GMA na they’re willing to wait,” Niño said.
“Actually nakaharap ko na ‘yung dalawa eh and they apologized to me regarding what happened. Kaya ko silang patawarin but they have to pay for what they did,” he added.
In response, Garduque clarified, “Depende po kasi kung saan nagso-sorry. If nag-sorry po with regard to the liability, under the rules po pagka sa criminal case, there is a presumption of guilt. Pero pag civil case, that’s not a presumption of guilt.”
The contractors’ legal team is still considering whether they will attend the next hearing, as they have also been subpoenaed by the Senate.