PEP: Illac Diaz still mad at Giselle Sanchez

Umaga nitong Huwebes, March 3, nakatanggap uli ng mensahe sa text ang PEP (Philippine Entertainment Portal) mula sa entrepreneur na si Illac Diaz. Reaksiyon ito ng dating actor-model sa naging sagot ni Giselle Sanchez sa paglilinaw ni Illac sa "love triangle" issue na kinasangkutan ng pangalan niya, pati na rin sina Julia Clarete at Angelica Jones. Si Julia ang girlfriend ngayon ni Illac, samantalang si Angelica naman ay ka-deal ng dating model-actor sa mga proyekto ng isang socio-civic organization, ang Shelter Foundation, na kanyang pinamumunuan. Ang pagtutuwid ni Illac ay lumabas dito sa PEP nitong Miyerkules. Agad namang sumunod ang sagot o reaksiyon ni Giselle hinggil sa mga pahayag ni Illac. Narito naman ang sagot ni Illac—na ipinadala niya sa PEP through a five-page text message—sa reaksiyon ni Giselle: "There can be no justification for baring false witness; even in the Bible. The issue here is the responsibility of media, which over the years there has been an evolution of the proper ways of using and not abusing the power of media. "I do not understand why in response to a failure in journalistic integrity and creed, she answers Psalms when she should answer in plain English. "She abused her privilege given by the editors and newspaper to print a lie in simple malice, either in partnership or just in reckless abandon of all the proper rules of balanced news. Even gossip columnists have guidelines somehow. "She confuses civic responsibility with religion which confuses the issue. She abused her right and abandoned all rules by attacking innocent people with a poisoned pen! "The last refuge is not the Bible but the truth, and that she printed lies to fill up her column, abandoning her responsibility as a writer, abandoning her responsibility as a journalist, abandoning her responsibility to the newspaper's integrity, as a human being, for injuring another, and using the Bible as a shield for wrongdoing. "Just because you have a gun doesn't mean you could just fire in the air when you want, or wherever you want. People get hurt. The issue is that there was an abuse of free media clause because it means responsible media and not shooting down reputations and disrupting lives. "The issue that she published a plainly proven lie is secondary now. There is no fact or witness supporting her statements. The issue that she abused her column, for harming innocent people is the big issue. Bad journalism is the big issue, and based on the comments, people want media to be responsible with the rights they are given. "We want to believe in truth and responsibility even in a flawed democracy because what can we look forward to when there is no self-restraint with power? Anarchy and Ampatuans?" Sa mga pahayag na ito ni Illac ay posibleng makaapuhap din ng katwiran ang kabilang panig, o gaya ng nabanggit ni Giselle sa kanyang reaksiyon na nais ni Illac na palakihin, or "blow the issue out of proportion." Samantala, nabanggit ni Giselle na handa siyang ilathala ang pagtutuwid mismo ni Illac sa issue, pero hindi na hinintay ng dating actor-model at pilantropo ang minarapat niyang gawin. "Why should I let the person that did me wrong be the one to air my side of the story?" tanong naman ni Illac, bilang kontra-reaksiyon. "The person who irresponsibly caused you harm will be the one to flog herself? Plus, she already does not show penitence so I doubt it if she knows how to write a retraction. That's the most insane proposition. "Second, why will she air it in two weeks time while I wait for the rumors to turn from a wound to a tumor?" FURTHER REACTION FROM GISELLE. Again, PEP sought Giselle for further comments/reactions. Nag-reply agad sa text si Giselle, saying, "I commented na. Karen [Pagsolingan, PEP managing editor] called me last night, and I sent her my message [as posted online]." At sa panayam ng PEP sa kanya sa telepono, sinabi nitong pinayuhan siya ng kanyang mga editors na ang susunod na statement ay lalabas sa kanyang column sa Manila Bulletin. - William R. Reyes, PEP