The Hayden Kho-Katrina Halili sex video scandal may have brought to the fore a “social menace” but the government is also looking at the issue as a silver lining to strengthen laws against pornography, voyeurism and obscenity in the country.
“If there’s anything good that can come out of all this controversy, this has highlighted the need for our lawmakers to really look into legislation that can effectively control or regulate the Internet involving cyber sex,” Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said Saturday.
Remonde also stressed the role of parents in providing supervision to their children, especially when it comes to combating pornography or exploring pornographic materials.
Published reports revealed that bills against video and image voyeurism, child pornography, obscenity and porno are yet to be approved by the Senate.
“We trust the distinguished senators who are directly elected by the people and have the responsibility to the people. We still trust the leadership of the Senate and the Senate President, Juan Ponce Enrile. In fairness to him, since he became Senate President, he has demonstrated and have disposed important cases of the administration,” Remonde said.
“We trust that he will be able to handle these matters,” he added.
The Press Secretary earlier said that President Arroyo called for a stronger legislation regulating the Internet for the protection of public morals, adding that the president deplores any violation of women’s rights.
Remonde said the President has already ordered the Optical Media Board (OMB) and other government agencies to beef up their government campaigns against pornography.
House sets inquiry on sex video scandal despite an apology from celebrity doctor Hayden Kho, the House of Representatives will pursue its own inquiry into the sex video scandal involving him, actress Katrina Halili and possibly others.
Speaker Prospero C. Nograles said the House will give priority to the probe in deference to its more than 50 female members, who have been “disturbed” by the proliferation of a video showing Kho in bed with different women, including Halili.
“The House will give this top priority especially that there are so many women members of Congress,” the House leader said.
Nograles said the House has the duty to probe any “psychological violence and abuse against women and the privacy of their rights and the scheme they had to go through.”
Earlier, Gabriela Reps. Liza Maza and Luz Ilagan filed House Resolution 1184 directing three House committees to inquire into how the right to privacy can best be protected in the light of the latest video sex scandal involving Kho.
Kho already virtually admitted that he videotaped his sexual encounters with women without their knowledge and consent, and apologized for doing it.
Maza and Ilagan said the House should conduct an inquiry, in aid of legislation, to prevent the occurrence of similar incidents in the future.
Halili, the aggrieved actress in the video, said that she will pursue a case of psychological violence under the Section 5 of the Women and Children’s Welfare Act against Kho even as the controversial doctor and his girlfriend, cosmetic surgeon Dr. Vicki Belo, are set to file next week their counter-affidavits on the complaint filed by the actress, National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Assistant Regional Director Vicente de Guzman III, chief of the Anti-Fraud and Computer Crimes Division, said Saturday.
De Guzman said that engineer Ric Johnston Chua is expected to appear Monday before the NBI to answer allegations that he reproduced the sex video on Kho and Halili and allegedly uploaded it in the Internet.
Kho and Belo of the Belo Medical Clinic were summoned by the NBI to appear before the NBI last Friday after a complaint was filed by Halili against Kho but the two doctors did not appear and instead sent their lawyers, Peter John Javier, Jose Paolo A. Patajo and two other lawyers to face the investigators.
The lawyers of Kho and Belo said the two doctors would file their counter affidavit this week.
De Guzman said Chua also failed to appear at the NBI last Friday but said that he has hired a lawyer who asked for a time to study the matter.
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