Senator Raffy Tulfo was thankful that TV5 Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan responded to his complaint against a program manager who worked for the network.
In his statement, Tulfo said that TV5 employee Cliff Gingco had already been suspended after a neophyte researcher for News5, “Lea,” claimed that the program manager forced her into a hotel.
According to Tulfo, Lea already tried to complain against Gingco, but her actions only resulted in her firing from one of the shows she was working at.
“Nabalitaan namin na si Cliff ay pagala-gala lamang diyan sa newsroom sa baba, pangisi-ngisi raw. Pangatlo, pinagtatawanan [ang biktima] pa raw allegedly ng mga kasamahan ni Cliff. Binigyan ng envelope [ang biktima] na may nakalagay na PHP5,000, parang suhol, kumapit ka lang,” said Tulfo.
Tulfo then disclosed that the program manager has alleged ties with a higher-up on TV5.
“Bakit itong si Cliff, hindi masusupinde? Malaman-laman ko, ito pala ay inaanak ng isang mataas na opisyal sa TV5,” said Tulfo. “Kapag ano pala, tropa, hindi ninyo sususpendihin. Untouchable. E, hindi puwede yon. Kailangan patas ang pagpapa-implement sa patakaran, sa batas. Now, nasuspinde na si Cliff, sibak na po siya. At least, nandiyan yung hustisya na nakamit,”
After Tulfo’s complaint, TV5 vowed to assist Lea.
As of this writing, Gingco has yet to respond to the complaint he is facing.
It can be recalled that the dark side of the media industry became one of the top topics after Sandro Muhlach disclosed his experiences in the hands of two independent contractors of GMA Network.