Freddie Aguilar fights for love
“YOU and me against the world.”
This seems to be the battlecry of multi-awarded singer and songwriter Freddie Aguilar who has been hogging the headlines recently after announcing his love affair with a 16-year-old girl.
The relationship has also managed to polarize our predominantly Catholic nation, and drawn a line between those who think that Aguilar should be held accountable for his actions and those who believe that the singer should just be left alone.
Last November 4, however, the folk icon threw caution to the wind as he engaged his critics in a heated debate during a live episode of “Face Face the People People” aired over TV 5.
It seemed that the music legend, who popularized the hit songs Anak and Mag- dalena, wanted to blow off steam, and at the same time, gauge the public’s response to the issues raised against him.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has conducted an investigation into the affair, while a qualified seduction case was filed against Aguilar by lawyer Fernando Perito.
But the 60-year-old singer must have seen something special in the young lady which emboldened him to put his career on the line.
Beyond doubt, Aguilar was smitten by the girl whom he described as very mature despite her young age.
He also vehemently denied that he was abusing the girl, pointing out that it was only his detractors who were complaining about their relationship.
In fact, Aguilar was joined by his daughter Maegan and Violeta Albao, the mother of his young girlfriend, who both expressed their support to the controversial couple.
He said that despite showing his sincere intension for the girl, his detractors have tried to paint him as a child-molester and a pedophile.
Among the show’s panelists, columnist Joey Sarmiento and lawyer Trixie Cruz-Angeles took the moral and legal high ground, as they pointed out that the singer should not have entered into a relationship with the girl who is still a minor in the first place.
Cruz-Angeles explained that Aguilar is not being prohibited from loving his girlfriend per se. What will make the relationship illegal, she said, is the “physical manifestations” which may be done by Aguilar.
The lawyer cited Republic Act 7610 or the The Special Protection of Children Against Child Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act which prohibits Aguilar and his girlfriend from staying in one room, house, or hotel without the child’s parents, and from engaging in any sexual activity.
Aguilar said that he clearly understood the provisions of the law but stood firm that he would fight tooth and nail for their relationship.
The singer-songwriter found consolation from the support of the studio audience who consistently voted “yes” for three rounds as to the question of whether Aguilar and the girl should continue with their relationship.