Atty. Annette Gozon-Abrogar has issued a statement regarding the alleged countercharges filed by Sarah Lahbati against her.
According to the GMA Films president, those complaints that Lahbati’s camp told the media they have already filed against her have not yet been filed at all.
Abrogar said it is a form of disrespect to the media and the judicial system.
“I have three things to say: First, as the subject of the direct attack of their unfiled complaints, I am unhappy that they haven’t filed them yet because I want the public to know who is telling the truth and who the real aggrieved party is in all of this. Kung hindi nila i-file, hindi malalaman ng mga tao kung totoo ba ang laman ng complaints and kung may basis ba talaga sila sa pagsampa ng kaso. What they did – making it appear to the media and the public that the complaints have already been filed when they were not — and having media carry their detailed and unsubstantiated allegations as if they have already filed the case — might have a deeper purpose. I am currently studying whatever cases I can file against them because of this.
“Secondly, I want to react not as the subject of their unfiled complaints but as a member of the media. I feel that whether they made that mistake with malice or not or with gross negligence or not, there was disrespect to media organizations. Members of the media who carried their story as if the complaints have been filed were victimized by them. By making the media believe that the complaints have been filed, the complaints were treated as public documents that may be exempt from libel when they carry or publish them. Unfortunately, hindi pa pala filed. Therefore, they exposed media organizations to potential criminal liability.
“Thirdly, I want to react as a member of the legal profession. I hope that the judiciary is given the respect it deserves. For me, making it appear that a case was being filed in a prosecutor’s office for publicity purposes shows disrespect to our judiciary and our legal system. Sana, sa mga actions natin, respetuhin naman natin ang ating judicial system.”
The allegedly fake countercharges were Sarah’s answer to the libel charges filed against her by Abrogar based on her Twitter posts last January. Sarah claimed in her posts that the network executive convinced her to sign a contract with ICONS talent management who allegedly does under-the-table deals with GMA Artist Center. She also said that the network’s treatment to her started changing negatively when she refused to sign the contract.
Sarah flew to Switzerland even before the libel charges against her were filed. A warrant of arrest was issued for her while she was still out of the country. She posted bail July 12th, hours after she flew back to Manila with boyfriend Richard Gutierrez on the night of July 11.
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