CEBU CITY, Philippines—Speaking to the local press, Felipe L. Gozon, chair, president and chief executive officer of GMA 7, defended the network’s talents Katrina Halili and Aljur Abrenica who are currently embroiled in sex scandals.
Halili’s sex video with cosmetic surgeon Hayden Kho was leaked on the Internet and distributed through bootleg DVDs. Abrenica was slapped with a sexual harassment suit by a minor.
Gozon said he sympathized with Halili. “What happened to Katrina was unfair. She wasn’t at fault. She just fell in love. Why punish her for that? At least now, she knows that what happened was wrong.”
Halili was recently tapped to play the contravida in the upcoming soap opera “Rosalinda.”
The basis for hiring Halili was competence, not her involvement in a controversy, Gozon explained. “Why deprive her of projects? Katrina is a good contravida. The past shows where she played the villainess (“Darna,” “Marimar’) were top-raters.”
He said the network is fully behind Halili in her quest for justice. “We are not a law office, but we are supporting her, morally. We believe she’s the aggrieved party and she has every right to complain.”
Gozon issued a memorandum to network employees, instructing them not to download the sex videos from the Net.
He said he followed Abrenica’s case with great interest, too. “I didn’t get to talk to Aljur because he left for the United States. But I asked our people to investigate the matter and when I read the report … as a lawyer I knew Aljur didn’t do anything wrong.”
But if it’s a private quarrel, like that of executive Wilma Galvante and manager Annabelle Rama, he refuses to meddle.
“If you leave them alone, they’re able to resolve matters themselves. But if one of our talents gets involved in a lawsuit with outsiders, I take a look into it.”
The head of the Kapuso channel aims to be an “approachable and transparent” leader.
He said he traveled to Cebu because he wanted to strengthen the network’s position in the regions.
That’s why GMA 7 is courting Cebuanos, he said. “We’re doing it, not only by promoting our shows, but also by extending the Kapuso brand of public service.”
The Kapuso fans’ day, held in SM City Cebu last Saturday, not only featured network stars, but also booths that provided various services from agencies like the National Bureau of Investigation, Philhealth, the Commission on Elections, the Department of Health and the National Statistics Office.
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