Sam Verzosa
PORMAL nang nagsampa ng kasong cyberlibel o Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 ang kongresista at TV host na si Sam Verzosa laban sa isang broadsheet columnist.
Personal na nagtungo ang Tutok To Win party-list representative at host ng public service program na “Dear SV” sa GMA 7 sa Manila City Prosecutor’s Office kahapon ng umaga, November 19, para idemanda ang Daily Tribune columnist na si Atty. Star Elamparo.
Ang reklamo ni Sam ay may kinalaman sa isinulat ni Elamparo sa “Runner’s High” column nito na lumabas noong November 11 na may titulong “Celebrities and cheating at NYCM?”.
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Mababasa rito ang pagkuwestiyon sa naging partisipasyon ni Sam at ng girlfriend nitong si Rhian Ramos sa New York City Marathon sa Amerika noong November 3.
Ayon kay Sam, nagdesisyon siyang dalhin sa korte ang usapin dahil kailangan niyang linisin ang pangalan nila ni Rhian sa gitna ng lumabas na pagdududa sa pagsali nila sa naturang sports event.
Ang feeling ni Sam politically motivated at bahagi umano ng isang demolition job sa kanila ni Rhian ang balitang nandaya raw sila sa naganap na marathon.
Kakandidato kasi bilang mayor ng Manila sa 2025 elections si Sam kung saan makakalaban niya ang dating alkaldeng si Isko Moreno at ang incumbent mayor na si Honey Lacuna.
“Hindi ko maiaalis sa utak ko na merong nag-motivate para gawin ito sa akin. Hindi malayong isipin na politically motivated yung ginagawa sa akin.
“Kung ang pagtakbo lang sa marathon ang puntirya, bakit ikinokonekta sa pagtakbo ko sa Maynila? Naglabas siya na dapat daw, nag-explain ako sa kanya.
“Bakit ako magpapaliwanag sa ‘yo? Baligtad, dapat bago ka naglabas ng article, as a responsible journalist, nag-reach out ka sa amin. Inalam mo muna yung side namin o kaya nag-reach out ka sa marathon organizers.
“Kapag nakumpirma mo na tama, saka ka maglabas. Hindi yung mag-a-accuse ka ng pandaraya tapos ili-link mo pa sa politika. Masama, masama ito.
“Ang sabi ko nga, this will be the last time I will talk about her. Ayoko nang pag-usapan ito. I will let my lawyers deal with this at sana, magsilbi itong lesson sa mga taong may plano pa na manira,” ang pahayag ni Sam sa ilang miyembro ng media pagkatapos niyang maghain ng kanyang complaint affidavit.
Pagpapatuloy ni SV, “Sa totoo lang, ayoko siyang patulan, pero kailangan may tumindig sa mga tao na nagkakalat ng paninira, nagkakalat ng fake news.
“Sabi ko nga, kung kaya niyang gawin sa akin ito at gamitin niya ang kanyang posisyon, ang pagiging abogado, ang pagkakaroon niya ng column sa diyaryo, kaya niyang gawin ito kahit kanino. So, paano po yung mga taong walang kalaban-laban?” aniya pa.
Sabi pa ni Sam, kahit daw inilabas na nila ng buong video ng partisipasyon nila ni Rhian sa naturang marathon para patunayang hindi sila nandaya, ay pinanindigan pa rin daw ng kolumnista ang kanyang isinulat.
“Yung hinahanap niya na nawawala raw na markers, ipinakita ko. Kahit nagpadala na ng e-mail yung New York Marathon organizers, talagang matigas siya. Talagang gusto niyang panindigan.
“Itong kultura na to, sana matigil na kasi ang nangyayari, kapag ito kumalat at sinakyan ng iba, minsan nagiging totoo na. Ang hirap na maging ganito ang kultura natin sa Pilipinas. Marami na po ang nasaktan, hindi lang ako.
“Kung ako, okay lang, pero yung mga mahal ko sa buhay, idinamay pa niya si Rhian. Siyempre, mahal ko si Rhian, kailangan kong ipagtanggol, e.
“Ayaw niyang pansinin pero ramdam ko na apektado rin siya, ang pamilya ko, ang nanay ko, ang mga kapatid ko. Ang dami niyang nasaktan na mga tao. Lumalaban ako. Kailangan ko silang ipaglaban,” ang mariin pang pahayag ni SV.
Samantala, naglabas naman ng kanyang side si Elemparo sa kanyang November 16 column na may titulong “Clearing the air.”
Nang malaman daw niya ang tungkol sa isyu sa New York City Marathon, “The first thing I accessed was the NYCM app, which records the splits of all the runners.
“Based on the splits of the runners I tracked, there were mile markers almost every three miles. This means that runners pass through timing mats almost every three miles to ensure that they stay in the race course — and not ride the train or employ some other means to get to the finish line.
“Persons who do these are called ‘ninjas’ by runners because they don’t actually run the entire route but somehow show up at the finish line. Unfortunately, it happens every now and then during races.
“When I accessed the couple’s publicly available NYCM record, I saw that they had identically missing splits representing three-mile markers.
“According to New York Road Runners (NYRR) rules, having missing splits is a ground to disqualify a runner.
“A check of the NYRR website yielded similarly baffling information. The couple were the 55,265th and 55,266th finishers. I randomly checked on at least five runners who had longer finish times than the couple and these runners had complete splits.
“The timing mats ordinarily stay in place during the duration of the race. Since the NYCM cut-off time was 10 p.m. and the couple finished before 8 p.m., there was no reason for me to suppose that the timing mats had been removed by the time the couple were alleged to have crossed those mile markers,” paliwanag niya.
Sa katunayan, hindi raw niya direktang inakusahan ng pandaraya sina Sam at Rhian, “Thus in my column, I noted it was ‘curious’ that the couple had missing mile markers. I further said that ‘if allegations are proven true,’ this may be a case of cheating.
“I then emphasized that, ordinarily, an investigation would be conducted by the race organizer.
“Finally, in my last sentence I said: This column will be open to any response from Mr. Verzosa and Ms. Ramos.
“Verily, I did not state as a matter of fact that the couple had cheated but only raised the possibility based on publicly available information,” esplika niya.
Sabi pa niya, “While neither of the couple has sent any response to this column or this newspaper, both have responded on social media and Mr. Verzosa held a press conference on Thursday, the full clip of which I posted in my social media account.
“Friends of the couple have also posted and one even reached out via messenger attesting that they finished the marathon fair and square.
“I have no personal interest in discrediting either of the couple and sincerely hope this clears the air. As our Supreme Court has time and again said in relation to public figures who have been subjected to the harshest of criticisms, nothing assuages better than the balm of a clear conscience.”
Bukas ang BANDERA sa anumang magiging pahayag pa ng kolumnista sa pagsasampa ng kaso ni Sam Verzosa.