Photo: Gerald Santos/Instagram
For the first time since the incident 19 years ago, singer-actor Gerald Santos (pic) 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.
“I was not harassed. I was not abused. I was raped,” an emotional Santos said as he tried to keep his emotions in check as he answered the senators’ questions.
Senator Jinggoy Estrada then said: “There are a lot of definitions of rape. How did you say it was rape?”
He said he was willing to narrate his ordeal but he was afraid that the one he was accusing would get back at him.
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, I kept [quiet] because of fear, embarrassment. I was really ashamed because people tend to just dismiss my claims and told me to just move on,” he 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 ... I didn’t have the courage because I was merely a contestant then. I was just crying to my parents. My grandfather has passed away full of resentment because I haven’t achieved justice,” he added.
Santos took to social media recently saying he is sympathising 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. – Philippine Daily Inquirer/Asia News Network
