Katrina Halili Scandal

In the event of a sex video scandal surfaces, people tends to sympathize with the woman involved. That's what happened when Filipina movie actress Katrina Halili was involved in a sex video scandal with her boyfriend Dr. Hayden Kho, Jr.

A lot of concerned people, civil groups, women's rights advocates and even the senate of the Philippines, Katrina found allies in those institutions. The senate conducted an investigation in aid of legislation on the case due to the privilege speech of one of the senators who aired his concern in the fate of Katrina Halili. Radical women's groups showed their support by shouting in the streets condemning the alleged act of Dr. Kho in taping and distributing the sex video.

There were civil society groups that helped Katrina Halili in filing the case against Dr. Kho in the Professional Regulation Commission for the aim of revoking the professional license of Dr. Kho. An outcry from the whole conservative nation was so loud that the buzz of the scandal reached offshore to different Asian countries.

After those brouhaha, a little look back now that the issue has cooled down a bit. The senate, which is known for its "investigation gimmicks" to gain popularity among the Filipino voters, has yet to release nor drafted the law criminalizing the alleged act of Dr. Kho. The women's groups are now very silent. They just saw the incident as an opportunity to shout their grievances against the government.

The case filed by Katrina against Dr. Kho's mother was dismissed by the courts. Dr. Kho only got a suspension instead of revocation of his license. Katrina Halili, in my own opinion, has been used during her ordeal with the sex video scandal. Used by the persons who appeared to have helped her in the height of the scandal. They all got huge media attention that brought awareness to the whole nation about the issue, and of course about themselves.

Sometimes, I am thinking that Maricar Reyes, who was also involved in the sex video scandal, has done the right way in dealing with the situation by just keeping silent. No politicians involved, and fought alone silently. Those politicians got what they wanted for - media attention.And where is Katrina Halili now? She is there working hard to move on and trying to put everything behind.

So what is the lesson learned from this experience? When you are in trouble, not all people who lends a helping hand really wanted to help. You can encounter opportunists who masquerades as sheeps but are actually wolves trying to feed their stomachs and when they are full, leave you behind in your own. That's very rampant in the Philippines, be it in showbiz or in politics. They grab every possible opportunities to promote themselves and put their names in the prints.

The national election is fast approaching and politicians from the government and oppositions alike are trying to get themselves involved in the scandal. Can you imagine a showbiz scandal doing some limelight in the country's honorable senate halls? If it's not for the elections, will the scandal reach the senate? There are many priority national issues that needs to be discussed in the senate but our honorable senators preferred to tackle the sex scandal issue because they know of the political gain they will achieve.

The senators became celebrities themselves during the height of the scandal hearings. Anyway, that's the politics now in the Philippines. More and more celebrities are elected into government offices and in fact, one ex-president (he was impeached) was an actor!

The Katrina Halili scandal was just a show of some greedy politicians who took advantage of the situation, grabbed media attention, and advanced political agenda in the expense of Katrina's life and career.

Katrina Halili is now back in making TV shows and movies. Goodluck to her career.