An international relations expert questioned why ABS-CBN, one of the biggest television networks in the Philippines allowed a 17-year-old actress to be paired with a 30-year-old man.
In 2012, Coco Martin and Julia Montes formed a loveteam for their teleserye Walang Hanggan.
While only a few thought of the age gap between the two during that time, the latest admission of Coco about his relationship with Julia sparked a discussion if the actor was right to show interest in the actress who was only 13 years old and date her three years after.
According to Sass Rogando Sasot, Coco should not only be the one who receives criticism from netizens but also ABS-CBN for allowing it.
“It was ABS-CBN that formed the Julia-Coco love team when Julia was still a minor and Coco was 13 years older than Julia. Julia was 17 and Coco was 30 at that time. If Coco groomed Julia, so did our laws, so did ABS-CBN as it was the one who partnered a minor to an adult a decade or so older than her.” Sass said.
It can be remembered that Coco described Julia as ‘parang baby’ and ‘masarap alagaan’ while filming the show.
As of writing, ABS-CBN has yet to respond to the post made by Sasot.