Hayden Kho's mom no-show at libel preliminary investigation

MANILA, Philippines – Irene Kho, mother of controversial celebrity surgeon Hayden Kho, failed to show up at the preliminary investigation on Thursday of the libel case filed against her by actress Katrina Halili. Neither did Mrs. Kho's legal counsel appear at the investigation under prosecutor Rafael Villordon, despite her having been sent a subpoena to her home. Halili filed a complaint of two counts of libel against Mrs. Kho with two counts of libel at the Quezon City Regional Trial Court. But Halili, accompanied by her legal counsel Raymund Palad, attended the hearing and swore by her affidavit as required by Villordon. "Although the complaint-affidavit has already been sworn in before another city prosecutor when the case was filed, it is still my policy to require the complainant to appear personally before me to determine whether she is still pursuing the case or she already changed her mind from the time the case filed until the setting of the first preliminary investigation," Villordon said. In her complaint, Halili said Mrs. Kho made false and malicious remarks against her in two television interviews, on May 25 and May 26, in which Mrs. Kho alleged that Halili taught Hayden how to use drugs. Mrs. Kho made the accusations after the sex video scandal involving Hayden and several women, Halili included, broke out last month. According to Halili, Mrs. Kho’s statements "were all calculated to induce the public into believing that the complainant is a drug user and a 'pusher' when said malicious assertions are false and unfounded," and that these were made to discredit her and destroy her reputation. Despite the failure of Mrs. Kho and her legal counsel to attend the hearing, she would still be given the chance to submit her counter-affidavit on July 2, the scheduled next hearing on the case, Villordon said. Palad said he would ask the process server to personally serve the new subpoena to Mrs. Kho herself to ensure that she would receive it. Meanwhile, at the Department of Justice, Erik Chua, Herbert "Bistek" Rosario, and Princess Velasco swore by their counter-affidavits that were made in response to the complaint filed by Halili alleging that they were accessories to the spread of her sex video with Hayden. Hayden and his erstwhile lover, popular cosmetic surgeon Vicki Belo, had submitted their own counter-affidavits last week. In his affidavit, Chua said he and Belo turned on Hayden’s laptop and that Belo herself typed the password. Chua alleged that Belo asked him to transfer the files in the laptop to a DVD and then delete the files from the memory of the laptop, which is owned by the Belo Medical Group. Chua said Belo was in possession of the DVD. But Belo’s own counter-affidavit was in contrast with Chua’s statements. "I specifically asked Erik’s assistance precisely because I did not know the password to the hard drive…I did not instruct Erik to make me a copy of all sex videos and delete the sex videos found at the laptop taken from Hayden to permanently conceal the crime allegedly committed by the latter. All I asked him to do is to delete the file containing the sex video Hayden and I made if he found it in the hard drive," Belo said. Belo said she had no knowledge of the commission of a crime, and that she did not know the circumstances around the taking of Hayden’s sex videos with other women. She noted that her own video with Hayden was taken with her consent. "I never distributed or authorized anyone to distribute or make copies of the aforesaid videos or DVD," said Belo. Rosario and Velasco, meanwhile, said they had nothing to do with the taking and distribution of the sex videos. Yes! Magazine editor Jo-anne Maglipon also appeared at the DOJ hearing, where she affirmed her affidavit as a witness for Halili. Last March, her magazine published her interview with Hayden wherein Hayden denied having sex videos with any celebrity. Halili is required to submit during the next hearing on June 30 her reply affidavit to the counter-affidavits of the respondents. - GMANews.TV