What will happen to the case filed by Sandro Muhlach?
Atty. Maggie Abraham-Garduque, the legal counsel of GMA independent contractors Jojo Nones and Richard Cruz, said that the evidence presented by Sparkle artist Sandro Muhlach is not enough.
Sandro’s revelation created a wave in the entertainment industry in the Philippines. He filed r@pe complaint against Nones and Cruz. The actor received support from the public and this also pushed other artists to speak up about the alleged abuse they received, like what singer-actor Gerald Santos did.
Just recently, Sandro saw Nones and Cruz for the first time after the supposed incident. Based on Nino Muhlach’s statement, his son cried after seeing Nones and Cruz at the Department of Justice (DOJ), so, they were transferred to another room where they formally filed their counter affidavit.
In a recent interview, based on the article in Bandera, Atty. Garduque stressed that what Sandro Muhlach presented to the court as his evidence was not enough.
The lawyer said that the DOJ has a new rule in filing a case. She pointed out that before, the complainant could file a case if there was a possibility or probability that a crime happened and the respondent was probable to commit the crime.
However, she said that this is not the current rule. “Ngayon po under the new rules, mas mataas po ang quantum of evidence na required sa isang complainant para makapagsampa po ng kaso sa korte,” she said.
Nones and Cruz’s legal counsel that the court now asked for “reasonable certainty of conviction.” “And para po sa kampo namin, yun pong mga ebidensiyang isinabmit ni Sandro Muhlach, testimonial documentary and object evidence po ay hindi po sapat,” the lawyer stressed.
She added that there is no evidence to prove the case that was filed by Sandro. Atty. Garduque also said that what the actor stated in his complaint affidavit contradicted his documentary and object evidence. This was what the camp of Nones and Cruz stated in their counter affidavit.
Atty. Garduque also mentioned other pieces of evidence that Sandro presented like the participation of his girlfriend Shanelle who can be among the first persons he could contract regarding what happened to him.
However, the lawyer stressed that while Shanelle was calling Sandro when he was in the hotel room of Nones and Cruz, he canceled her calls.
“Tapos po doon po sa kanyang Instagram video, tumawag po si Shanelle, nasagot po yun ni Sandro. Nag-usap po sila for 25 seconds,” the lawyer said, adding that Sandro also replied to Shanelle’s text messages.