(UPDATES) VETERAN actor Niño Muhlach thanked the public for the support and asked for prayers as their family seeks justice for his son after filing a sexual molestation complaint, which was confirmed by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on Friday.
“Our family has suffered so much because of the unspeakable and vile acts done to our son. We ask for your prayers to help us muster enough strength and courage to withstand the horror of re-living the dastardly acts of the perpetrators as we seek justice through our legal system,” Muhlach said in a statement posted on his Instagram account Friday evening.
“Thank you for all your support and kind words and your gracious gift of space. We truly appreciate it,” he added.
Niño and Sandro Muhlach INSTAGRAM PHOTO/SANDROMUHLACH
Several reports claimed that Muhlach’s son, young actor Sandro, has already filed a formal complaint against two alleged perpetrators before the National Bureau of Investigation.
NBI also said that Muhlach accompanied Sandro, but the father and son both asked for privacy after their filing.
In a text message revealed by GMA’s nighttime news program “24 Oras,” Sandro said, “Hindi pa ako okay pero kakayanin ko po (I’m not OK yet, but I will manage).”
Sandro earlier filed a formal complaint before GMA Network, where he is currently one of its signed artists and where the two alleged abusers were working as “independent contractors.”
In a later statement, GMA Network revealed the names of the alleged offenders as Jojo Nones and Richard Cruz.
Sexual molestation rap
On Friday, the NBI confirmed that the Muhlachs formally filed a sexual molestation complaint.
In a statement, lawyer Maggie Abraham-Garduque, legal counsel of Nones and Cruz, said her clients are “deeply saddened by the serious allegations hurled against them circulating on social media.”
“And though these allegations do not mirror the true accounts of the event, we would like to reserve the right to respond in a proper forum when we receive a copy of the formal complaint,” Abraham-Garduque said.
She also asked the public to “refrain from posting baseless defamatory allegations” since the case was still being investigated.
At the same time, she warned people not to post pictures or images of her clients without their consent.
“This may constitute violation of their privacy and violation of the cybercrime law,” the lawyer pointed out.
In a statement, the network said it has already initiated an investigation into the allegations.
With a report from FRANCO JOSE C. BAROÑA
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