WILLIE Revillame’s lawyer Atty. Leonard de Vera yesterday slammed the Commission on Human Rights hearing on the March 12 Willing Willie episode as being biased and one big sham. “The CHR bias is very evident in the testimony of self-proclaimed child psychology expert, Dr. Honey Carandang, who has declared Revillame guilty of child abuse without having examined the alleged victim or his family. This amounts to malpractice,” said the counsel.
De Vera said Carandang is part of a grand scheme to destroy Revillame and Willing Willie. The lawyer bared that the supposed child psychology expert had written
MTRCB Chairperson Grace Poe Llamanzares urging sponsors to pull out from Willing Willie, which she urged to be suspended along with its host.
Revillame’s lawyer said Carandang’s letter triggered the “biased” probe of the Department of Social Welfare and Development, Commission on Human Rights and the MTRCB on the base.
“DSWD Sec. Dinky Soliman conclude that there was child abuse without even meeting Jan-jan and the family. The conflict of interest of the three-member panel with close connections with ABS-CBN constrained them to inhibit from this case,” De Vera added.
De Vera said that the three who have inhibited themselves from probing the case are Leah Navarro, cousin of ABS-CBN owner Gabby Lopez; Atty. Eric Mallonga, chief legal counsel of Bantay Bata 163, an ABS-CBN organization; and Atty. Eugenio Villarel, counsel for various ABS-CBN talents. He is married to an executive of ABS-CBN.
Revillame’s counsel added that many people question why the DSWD and the CHR are using Carandang as a resource person notwithstanding her premature finding of child abuse in the case and her affinity to
ABS-CBN.“There are hundreds of capable psychologists in this country to handle this issue, why her? Dr. Carandang went as far as comparing Jan-jan to a prostitute — who was paid to perform.
“The CHR has right from the start condemned Revillame for child abuse, and the ongoing hearing would most likely confirm or validate this stand. Thus, the hearing is a sham as it deprives Revillame of due process of law and the presumption of innocence in a case which is issentially criminal in nature,” said De Vera.
De Vera added that Carandang was hardly an impartial psychologist when she appeared before the CHR. “She relied apparently on the Youtube video that was maliciously spliced to put Revillame in a very bad light,” he stated.
Revillame’s counsel reiterated that there was nothing lewd or obscene about Jan-jan’s “body wave” dance. “Malice is in the eye of the beholder. Jan-jan performed the same dance at the Mall of Asia for the ‘Little Mr. SM contest’ and nobody found it lewd or obscene,” De Vera stressed.
