Deconstructing the Hayden Kho sex scandal: The fallout (Part 2 of 3)

In a privilege speech entitled "A Doctor's Perversity," Senator Ramon "Bong" Revilla Jr. lambasted celebrity doctor Hayden Kho as "a pervert of the highest kind, a predator who has no conscience nor respect for women," because of the sex videos now proliferating on the Internet, featuring Kho with several different women.
"Hindi siya marunong gumalang sa kababaihan. Para bang wala siyang nanay o mga kapatid na babae (He does not know how to respect women. It is like he has no mother or sisters)," Revilla said of Kho. "Para sa akin, dapat mabulok sa bilangguan ang mga ganitong tao para wala na silang maperwisyo (For me, people like this should rot in jail so they can no longer harm others)."

Official censure

Revilla is not the only one who has reacted to the proliferation of the videos. Senator Pia Cayetano has filed a bill in the Senate seeking to punish video voyeurs. "Victims of video voyeurs are doubly victimized, first, when the recording was made without their consent, and second, when such recording is viewed again and again on the Internet, mobile phones and video players," Cayetano is quoted by Manila Standard as saying.

Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago, on the other hand, has stated that Kho should be prosecuted for psychological violence under Republic Act 9262 or the Anti-Violence against Women and their Children Act. A press release says that according to Santiago, "under the law, a person who has or had a sexual or dating relationship with a woman is guilty of committing psychological violence against her through acts causing her mental or emotional anguish, public ridicule, or humiliation."

Malacañang has also stated that Kho must be sanctioned. "[I]t is disturbing because anything that affects the morals of society is very disturbing. We have to go hard on these people baka akalain ng sambayanan [the people might think] and international community [that we condone the act] especially that we are the only Catholic country in this part of the world; it will run across the morals of the Filipino people," Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita was quoted by GMANews.tv as saying.

Meanwhile, support has poured in for actress Katrina Halili, who has filed a complaint against Kho, saying she was one of the women in the videos and that the videos of her had been taken without her knowledge and consent. GMA Network, Halili's home network since she first entered showbiz via its reality show Starstruck, has issued a statement expressing its support for Halili. PEP's Editor in Chief Jo Ann Maglipon has also made it a point to blog about the controversy, saying "Sex videos diminish us all."

The Philippine Medical Association (PMA) is also going to investigate Kho. If he is found to have violated ethical and professional conduct, he will be declared unfit to practice the medical profession, according to PMA's Dr. Minguita Padilla. "Kung talagang totoo na siya (Kho) ang mismong [nandoon] (If he is really the man in the sex video), it is a very dangerous form of perversion; a perversion of the worst kind because you abuse the trust of another," the Manila Bulletin quotes Padilla as saying.

The Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) has also summoned Kho to appear before it. Kho, however, has already declared his intention to give up the medical profession.

Disgust, anger and forgiveness

Reactions to what has come to be referred to as the "Hayden Kho sex video scandal" are running the gamut from disgust and ridicule to righteous indignation to compassion.

Some bloggers denounced Kho's behavior as an indication of an unbalanced mind.

"Susmio marimar! Nasa tamang tino ba ang Hayden Kho na ito? O sadyang wala na siyang Kho-kote? (My God! Is this Hayden Kho in his right mind? Or does he have a mind at all?)" asks blogger Barrio Siete.

"What in psycho hell was he even thinking, secretly videotaping his private affairs AND leaking it? What can he possibly gain from all these? That he's a god? That he can get these beautiful women into bed with him? A true mark of a very insecure person," blogger Redjeulle vented. "Girls, just because the whole country saw you doing the deed with that idiot doesn't mean you're less human or anything like that. You were just unfortunate enough to know Hayden."

For some, his iniquity is compounded by the fact that he is an educated person and a professional.

"Hayden Kho is a highly educated individual and it is tragic that someone of his stature is revealed to be no worse than other perverts who see and treat women as nothing but sex toys. They deserve to be made social outcasts with the keys to their jail cells thrown away," declares blogger Fernando Gagelonia. "Regret is indeed a realization that comes when w[e] are beset by problems of our own making, Dr. Hayden Kho. But the severe trauma you have inflicted on your victims, not to mentioned the harm to their reputations is serious and is something that cannot be repaired by public apologies or claiming to have been 'under the influence of drugs' or whatever," he adds in another blog post.

Others criticized what they perceived as Kho's breach of decency and lack of gentlemanly behavior.

"I understand that sex is a part of human behavior. All humans do it. But heck, for the sake of privacy and dignity, Mr. Kho, please leave those stuff in your bedroom alone. Don't take videos of your sexcapades and brag [about] them like trophies sa iyong mga ka-brod [ to your frat brothers]," blogger Silver says. "What makes a man is not based on having a macho image, dating hot girls, getting rich nor being able to drink lots and lots of beer or alcohol... as well as being dominating / domineering to women. What makes a man is that he accepts responsibilities in his relationship and for his partner, he knows his limits, and he is sensitive enough for his relationship and his partner," she points out.

In his Inquirer column, Ramon Tulfo said of Kho, "If that girl whom Hayden exposed to the world were our daughter he would be dead by now."

Some, however, think that Kho needs help and try to view him with compassion.

"So how did a young man from a good family and a good school (UST) become tagged, by Sen. Bong, as a "maniac" and a "pervert"? Honestly? It was showbiz that destroyed him. Thrust overnight into the limelight by his participation in the show Celebrity Duets, the man who claimed to be "shy" and "reclusive" (even if he was already modeling part-time) found himself surrounded by all sorts of temptations, mostly of the flesh, blinded I'm sure by the glare of the klieg lights which can either make or break a person. Sadly, it broke him," columnist Ricky Lo mused.

"It's difficult to feel compassion for a man who took sick pleasure in filming their sexual acts. I don't really know what Hayden feels at this point but it's never too late for him to change and make amends to those people he hurt in the past," says blogger Noemi Lardizabal Dado.

There are more important issues

Along with the outpouring of indignation over Kho's behavior, however, comes another outpouring of indignation over what people perceived as the inflation of the issue beyond proportion.

Some people pointed out that sex scandals were nothing new. Quite a few made comparisons to Hong Kong actor Edison Chen's involvement in a similar scandal.

"Last year, the world rocked over the Edison Chen Explosion... Now there's the Hayden Kho Explosion??? Can we get over this please?" asks blogger Tonskie. "Wake up Philippines! Should I say there are better things to worry about than a mere celebrity scandal?"

"I suspect that the outrage exhibited by most of the men who have so righteously condemned Kho stems from the shock of self-recognition. There, but for the grace of God go (or more accurately, come) I," observes blogger The Warrior Lawyer. "It's easy to feel contempt for a pig like Kho. But in our haste to cast the first stone, we may be revealing more about ourselves than we care to admit."

"This controversy was just a case of videos made by consenting adults for private viewing getting leaked on the internet [and] the reason people want him punished is simply because he's a stud who can easily get women," blogger Santo Muerte opines.

"[W]hat pissed me off was the persistent reaction of Senator Bong Revilla on the issue. After all, this is no news to showbiz!" says blogger beans.

Others stated that the government had graver issues to face than litigating a sex scandal, such as the book blockade.

"I cannot, by any stretch of imagination, figure out why so much time is being wasted on this by the Senate. I'm sure this issue should be addressed. There is no question about that. However, I believe that there are more appropriate departments that should be able to deal with it. Hades, Edu Manzano and the OMB seems better-equipped to handle this issue than Sen. Revilla, and maybe they should leave the issue in his hands instead. The Senate has more pressing matters to deal with than this," says blogger Mistervader.

"Yes, I understand that morality (and just plain good old human decency) is a serious matter. But so is literacy. So is education. So why are our good politicians choosing to make a big fuss about these sex scandals to the extent of personally calling for punishment of the people involved yet make no move to call for the investigation into and punishment of people who (a) just made our country violate an international treaty, and (b) just helped to lower our literacy rate even more?" blogger Laya asks.

"The kind of outrage we pour into the Kho-Halili sex tape is exactly the kind of rage best reserved for classes held under the shade of a mango tree for lack of a classroom. The kind of rage best vented out against high gas prices and low salaries. The kind of rage that should be directed towards book blockades, graft and corruption, social inequalities, economic injustice, political turmoil. 'Scandal' has become so common for us in the political and social sense that it seems OK to be perverts for just this once, and allow ourselves the indulgence of a sex scandal we can all watch for no other purpose than to block out the real issues that we should confront," blogger Marocharim points out.

This article is the second of three installments. Watch out for the rest here on the Philippine Online Chronicles.

Deconstructing the Hayden Kho sex scandal: The facts (Part 1 of 3)
Deconstructing the Hayden Kho sex scandal: The free-for-all (Part 3 of 3)

Photo of Katrina Halili and Hayden Kho is a low-resolution screencap of a television performance and is believed to fall under fair use.

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