“Pinoy Pop Superstar” season 2 grand champion Gerald Santos reveals the sordid details that may have led to his falling off the entertainment radar following his win in 2006.
Although the show has long been canned, Santos resurfaced on “Paparazzi” on July 25 to talk about what had happened to him that may have led to his losing opportunities within the business—including allegedly being summarily dismissed from GMA’s Sunday variety show “SOP.”
Alluding to an alleged molestation attempt by a manager/composer, and also referred to by a host on the show as a musical director, Santos clarified that he and his family decided to tell on the alleged perpetrator because they were already feeling the “effect” of the man’s action towards him and his reaction to this.
“Ito pong taong ito, maimpluwensiya dun sa network,” Santos told the hosts. “So sa pagre-refuse ko sa kanya, siguro po lumalim na po ‘yung ano… Kung baga naapektuhan na rin…” As the hosts clarified that he basically was saying his refusal of the man’s advances resulted in him losing his show and exposure on the network, he replied, “Parang ganun po.”
Santos said that the incident first happened while he was still a part of the contest, and that several attempts went on after he had already won. Saying that he was just 15-years-old then, the now 20-year-old said that it took him and his party almost two years to bring up the charges because he was already feeling the effects on his career, which was going nowhere.
Tracing the timeline, he recalled, “Natakot po kasi ako, kasi Grand Finalist pa lang po ako nun eh… After one year pa po nung manalo ako.”
Santos said the matter worsened because the network executives they complained to did not act on the matter. “Ang nakaka-disappoint po kasi ang sagot lang po sa amin, ‘Just move on, matagal na ‘yun’…”
The young singer revealed now, “Hindi pa po tapos ang kontrata ko, nagpa-release lang po kami. Kasi nga po, dahil sa nangyari na ‘to… As an artist po, gusto ko ring mag-grow. Dumating po sa point na hindi na po ako naggo-grow kasi hindi rin ako nabibigyan ng projects. At opo, may trauma na rin po. Kung baga hindi na rin po maganda ‘yung atmosphere sa network.”
When asked to relate an incident to prove that he was indeed a victim of a molestation attempt, Santos related that back when there were just three grand finalists on the show, the perpetrator allegedly invited him to a show in Iloilo, but without the other two contestants.
“Early flight po kasi, first flight kami… so nag-ask siya na, dahil maaga nga po para hindi ma-late, pinatulog niya ako sa bahay niya. Tapos ‘yun na po… nasa kwarto niya po [ako], nagulat po ako kasi isa lang ang kwarto,” he related.
“Mga chancing-chancing… ‘yun na po ‘yun. Hindi po ako pumayag, kaya hindi po natuloy.”
Santos insisted that he considered the man’s influence to be a big factor in his stalled career. But apparently, this year marked a turn of events for him and his family. When a letter they sent to a GMA executive in January did not yield any result, they decided to go straight to another GMA boss, Atty. Felipe Gozon, chief executive and chair of GMA Network, Inc.
“Nag meeting kami nang March,” Santos said. ‘Yun nga po sabi nila, gusto nila i-pursue yung case, ‘So ‘wag ka munang umalis.’ Kasi nga po nagpapaalam na kami. Kasama po sa letter na nagpapaalam na kami.”
But Santos said he will no longer pursue the case from his end because GMA has already taken over the reins of pursuing the suspected perpetrator.
Despite having been released from GMA’s stable of talents, Santos’ message to his bosses at his former network is this: “Nagpapasalamat pa rin po ako, forever grateful po ako sa kanila. Dahil sila pa rin yung unang nag-diskubre sa akin, sila ang unang nagbigay ng break sa akin. Nagpapasalamat po ako kay Atty Gozon, kay sir Jimmy Duavit, sa mga panahong nangungulit po kami, naging patient kayo.”
