Catriona Gray vs Bulgar: Entertainment editor Janiz Navida issues statement
Last July 30, beauty queen Catriona Gray reached Bulgar via demand letter, denying her nude photo and asking for 10 million worth damage.
The Miss Universe 2018 with the help of her lawyer Attorney Jojie Alonso will file cyberlibel against the tabloid, entertainment editor Janiz Navida, and columnist Melba Llanera.
Will the case push through after that statement issued by Bulgar?
Read full statement here:
A pleasant day to you and the rest of your family. I hope and pray that you’re in a good condition upon receiving my letter, especially during these difficult times that we are going through.
In response to the demand letter you sent to our office last July 30, 2020 which I regret that I haven’t received yet until now ‘coz I’m quarantined for 14 days which will last until next week, and I was just able to read its content through the published article in PEP.ph, it’s really unfortunate and I feel so sorry that we came to this point when we could have talked nicely since your lawyer, Atty. Jojie Alonso, is a good friend in the entertainment world.
Ms. Gray, as our 2018 Ms. Universe who brought so much pride to the Philippines and made a remarkable name in the whole world… the universe rather… I want you to know that we truly honor and acknowledge all your hard work and effort to build that name and to deserve that most prestigious crown.
Not everybody is given that opportunity and I believe that having a good heart and soul is the major factor why God blessed you that precious gift. As the saying goes, when we do good to others, we also reap goodness, and you being not only a beauty queen but as an ambassadress as well is a blessing to all the Filipinos.
And with all the achievements you acquired and the status in the society that you’ve reached through your hard work, I personally believe that you’re truly an amazing pride of our country and that’s why we look up to you with highest respect and that we also care for your image.
I am not a beauty queen like you, I’m just an ordinary woman, but I believe that respect should be given not only depending on a person’s social status because all of us deserve respect.
And so when we received the copy of the topless photo which claims as you, and this came out in the middle of the enthralling actions being made by your ex-boyfriend, Clint Bondad, the first thing that got into our mind is of course, is this true or fake?
Of course, you got our sympathy without asking for it ‘coz as I’ve said, women should be respected at all times. And this is evident in the articles being published in our newspaper and online platform, BULGAR, for consecutive days from the time the controversy involving you and Mr. Bondad started.
You can check that our newspaper is a non-biased media entity based on our record for 28 long years. And to destroy, demolish or put down anyone is not our goal to earn a living. We have gained our credibility for many years as the “Boses ng Masa, Mata ng Bayan”. Our mission and vision is to educate, influence and give entertainment to our readers in the most balanced way that we can.
That is why when we learned that there’s this indecent topless photo that allegedly claims to be you, our intention is to inform the readers, not just you and your camp, that someone, or maybe a group of people, is doing this, spreading the obscene photo through online to destroy your name.
This, in fact, is supported by the article that was published in our newspaper under the INSIDER column of Ms. Melba Llanera dated July 19, 2020.
It’s clearly stated there that “KUNG SAKALING TOTOO ITO AT HINDI EDITED LANG, ‘DI NA NAMIN PAPANGALANAN PERO TIYAK NA MAY IDEYA NA ANG IBANG TAO KUNG SINO ANG MAAARING NASA LIKOD NG PAGLALABAS NITO.”
With this, I hope you can see clearly our stand that we sympathize with you and we fully support your decision to seek the help of NBI in hunting the person or people that want to destroy your good image and most respected name.
I hope too that you may see our intention to help you in clearing your name to the whole universe that the nude photo circulating online is fake and edited only, that’s why when we learned about your clarification on the matter, we quickly posted your camp’s statement on our Facebook page and website to enlighten everybody about that controversial photo.
And we also would want to reiterate that even when we decided to publish in print and uploaded the said photo in our FB page, we did our part to protect you — because you deserve that — by not releasing the original photo sent to us, instead we blurred the private part because our intention is not to show the readers that “eliciting to the mind” portion but just to inform everyone that there’s someone or maybe a group of people that want to destroy you.
One more thing, even the name of our newspaper sounds vulgar, we want you to see and understand that BULGAR stands for finding and revealing the truth with no bias. In fact, we can proudly say that we have well-known and credible writers from news, politics, entertainment and sports that made us gain the credibility we have now and brought us to this point.
I understand how you felt when this news came out. It’s a natural reaction of a person being destroyed helplessly, especially you’re holding the most prestigious title. But please consider to understand that we are here not to be your enemy but to help you clear your name ‘coz we know the feeling that you are being talked about behind your back and you have no way to defend yourself.
I believe you are smart enough to see clearly the whole situation and you can understand our side as a media entity.
Thank you so much for your most precious time and for giving us the opportunity to be heard. I hope we can have the chance to meet in person in the future.
May God continue to bless and protect you all the time and may love and peace dwell in your heart always.
Respectfully yours,
JANICE D. NAVIDA
Entertainment Editor
