ShareThisGMA Network star Mark Herras has been linked to an alleged video sex scandal.
In the webcam, Mark was allegedly conversing with a macho man, triggering rumors that he is gay.
Mark vehemently denied the rumors.
Mark Herras
“Nakikipag-chat ako sa isang maskuladong lalaki. Bakit ako? Ano ba naman? Gusto niyo bang isipin na bading ako?” said Mark in an interview aired on “Startalk,” Oct. 9, and reported in the Manila Bulletin by Rowena Joy Sanchez.
A total of three screenshots on Mark and his alleged webcam sex chat are said to have been first posted on local forum pinoyexchange.com.
The first two photos showed the guy, with the username mark_h2008 and screen name “mark h.” The third showed the same guy’s private part.
Mark stressed that he need not fabricate such a rumor just to have publicity and create a buzz.
“Bakit ko naman kailangang gumawa nang ganong klaseng issue? Hindi ko siya kailangang gawin at hindi ko siya kailangang pag-aksayahan ng panahon para gawin ko ‘yung mga bagay na ‘yon, diba? Sobrang saya ng buhay ko ngayon. Ang dami kong pinaglilibangang bagay na hindi ko kailangang umabot sa ganung kababang level,” he said.
“Gusto ko lang i-clear na hindi po totoo—and marami pong proofs ‘yon,” he stressed.
The reports stated that Mark’s photos were posted on April 8, 2010 while the shots were captured between 1:54 and 2:11 in the morning. That day, Mark recalled, he was at the “Party Pilipinas” show for the GMA Trade Launch.
“‘Yun ‘yung time na pinauwi ako ng ‘Party P’ kasi nag-heartburn ako. Humingi ako ng time sa GMA para maka-relax, mag-recover… Bakit ayaw nilang nananahimik ako?” he said.
Although the guy purported to be Mark has facial hair, “Startalk” said that it wasn’t as thick as Mark’s at that time, when he grew a mustache and goatee for his roles in “Paano Ba Ang Mangarap” and later, “Langit Sa Piling Mo.”
“‘Yung bigote’t balbas ko nandun almost half a year kasi siya eh. Meron ako no’n since ‘Paano Ba Ang Mangarap,’” recalled Mark.
The actor said in the Bulletin report that he’s not fond of chatting nor does he use his name as user ID in his accounts.
“‘Yung personal na markangeloherras.com, hindi ako gumagamit nang ganon. Never akong gumamit nang ganon ever since I started showbiz. From day one, kahit uso pa ‘yung Friendster dati, wala pang Facebook, never ako gumamit ng Mark Angelo or kahit na username na Herras,” he said.
Leaking malicious photos and videos on channels such as the web is punishable by law.
Atty. Aquil Tamano, in a separate interview on “Startalk,” said that under the “Anti-Voyeurism Law,” two people with “reasonable expectation of privacy”—“na sila lang ang dapat makakita at nilabas, may criminal sanctions ang batas diyan.” The sanction, Atty. Tamano said, is imprisonment for seven years.
Mark is concerned with the effect of the malicious controversy on his family.
“Kung sino man ‘yung gumagawa non, sana maisip nila ‘yung magiging epekto nito sa family ko… kina Ynna (Asistio, Mark’s girlfriend)…ayokong masangkot sila sa mga ganitong klaseng issue.
“Ako, hindi ako naaapektuhan sa ganung klaseng intriga. Wala sa’kin ‘yon. Basta wag lang nilang idamay ‘yung family ko,” he said.
Mark was quoted in the report as saying he hopes that the issue will serve as a lesson to those who fabricate stories about other people.
“Sana bago sila gumawa ng kahit anong kalokohan, isipin nila ‘yung mga taong dinadamay nila. Bakit kayo maninira ng buhay ng mga tao?”
And for the person who circulated the controversial photos, Mark has this to say:
“Sa’yo, ano bang nakuha mo, ano ba ‘yung na-achieve mo? Sana isipin mo muna ‘yung ginagawa mong kalokohan dahil unang-una, ‘yung nagiging epekto nito sa lahat ng tao.”