Lawyer says story behind Fullido harassment complaint ‘complicated’

Lawyer Evalyn Ursua on Saturday came to the defense of her clients -  the two ABS-CBN executives being accused by reporter Gretchen Fullido of sexual harassment.

In a statement on Saturday, Ursua said it was "unfortunate" that Fullido chose to pursue a criminal complaint against former executive producer Cheryl Favila and segment producer Maricar Asprec, despite  the same complaint having been previously dismissed as baseless after a thorough formal investigation within ABS CBN.

"This dismissal came about after Favila and Asprec proved that the text messages that Fullido used as evidence were distorted and maliciously taken out of their conversation threads," Ursua explained.

The lawyer also claimed thatthe story behind the sexual harassment charge was a complicated issue, involving personal, professional, and political matters.

Ursua then accused Fullido of being prejudiced against LGBTQ people. "Her baseless complaint is also a classic example of discrimination against LGBTQ individuals and gender stereotyping against them in matters of sexuality," she argued.

The lawyer urged the LGBTQ community to "examine this case closely and to stand by Favila and Asprec, two decent and upright women whose integrity is widely known among their peers and colleagues."

Noting she has done decades of work as a feminist lawyer with an advocacy against those who abuse women and children, Ursua said, "I have never supported nor will I ever support any abuse of the right to file a sexual harassment complaint based on fabricated stories and out of pure malice.

"It is the duty of every women’s rights advocate to ensure that a woman complainant exercises her right to file a sexual harassment complaint responsibly."

Ursua added that while it pained her to argue against Fullido, another woman, in a sexual harassment case, she welcomed the opportunity to rise to the defense of two women who were wrongly accused.

Fullido, in her complaint, alleged that Favila and Asprec had sent her text messages that were loaded with sexual innuendo, which amounted to requests for sexual favors.

When Fullido refused, the two allegedly retaliated and made it difficult for her to work. This alleged harassment when on for three years.

Favila was reportedly dismissed from ABS-CBN after being found guilty of gross misconduct in an administrative case filed by Fullido.

The sexual harassment case against the executive, however, was reportedly dismissed by the network.

Fullido also filed libel charges against ABS-CBN news executives Ces Drilon and Venancio Borromeo, and reporter Marie Lozano, all of whom allegedly "besmirched her reputation when they stated that she filed a similar sexual harassment complaint against Favila and Asprec with ABS-CBN management to leverage her employment status with ABS-CBN."

On Friday night, Ces Drilon issued her own statement in which she denied Fullido's allegations.

ABS-CBN meanwhile said it respected Fullido's right to bring her complaint to court. — Margaret Claire Layug/DVM, GMA News