I.

Point of View

Ms. Gretchen Fullido, ABS-CBN TV Patrol entertainment news anchor and reporter.

II. Definition of the Problem

Gretchen Fullido, ABS-CBN TV Patrol entertainment news anchor and reporter, claims

she was sexually harassed by colleagues Cheryl Favila and Maricar Asprec from 2015 to 2017,

or a period of roughly three years.

The 34-year-old Gretchen—a TV personality who is also under ABS-CBN's talent-

management arm, Star Magic—says that the two women bosses gave her the “feeling” that she

needed to be “close” to them beyond the “Boss-Colleague level” if she were to get ahead in the

newsroom.

III. Statement of Objectives

The objective of the study is to identify the problem and recommend actions necessary

for the issue. The study hopes to contribute to the inadequate case studies and literature on the

issue and to determine whether there is significant difference on the level of perception on

sexual harassment among employees.

IV. Areas of Consideration

Gretchen Fullido’s lawyer Marvin Aceron shared to a group of reporters the formal

complaint they filed against the television reporter’s ABS-CBN colleagues before the Quezon

City Prosecutor’s Office on Friday.

The complaint contained text messages supposedly sent to Fullido by former ABS-CBN

news executive Cheryl Favila and news segment producer Maricar Asprec from 2015 to 2017.
 The complaint stated that Fullido felt that she “needed to be close to them beyond the

Boss-Colleague level” when “Tara Grets” first launched in April 2015.

It claimed that Favila and Asprec were in an “open relationship” and “Favila usually

reserved her Thursday for a third-party.” Asprec allegedly asked Fullido to become Favila’s

“Thursday Girl,” but she rejected this “request/offer.”

Text messages supposedly received by Fullido starting 2015 were cited in the complaint,

including the following:

“I pitched for you to be the social media anchor for Election Marathon. But mas gusto ko pa rin

ng strip-teaser Gretch yata.”

“Nothing really. I just want to say you were very sexy when you went up to me in the

newsroom.”

“Parati naman akong game sa’yo. Ikaw lang ang maayaw. Hindi ko pa nakakalimutan ang

rejection mo. #hugot ko”

“No. It’s more of a guy thing. Pwede pag lalapit ka, wag masyadong malapit? Unless tayong

dalawa lang…”

According to the complaint, Fullido repeatedly rejected these advances since 2015.

However, the complaint cited that “whenever she would reject Favila’s sexual advances,

whenever Complainant did not give in to what Favila wanted — professionally and personally —

her stories and work would suffer for it.

Meanwhile, the lawyer of Favila and Asprec, Evalyn Ursua, said in a Facebook post that

ABS-CBN had dismissed the same complaint as baseless.

 “This dismissal came about after Favila and Asprec proved that the text messages that

Fullido used as evidence were distorted and maliciously taken out of their conversation

threads,” Ursua said.

ABS-CBN dismissed the sexual harassment case against Favila on July 16, but it led to

her termination for serious misconduct.

Charges against Asprec, on the other hand, were dismissed “there being no evidence

showing her guilt for the alleged acts.”

The files sent by Fullido’s camp also included the basis of a libel complaint against news

executives Ces Drilon, Venancio Borromeo, and reporter Marie Lozano.

They stated in the complaint that these ABS-CBN executives besmirched Fullido’s

reputation by saying that the television reporter filed the administrative complaint “to leverage

her status with ABS-CBN.”

Drilon recently issued a statement saying that it is “unthinkable” for her to do what

Fullido alleges. ABS-CBN network also released a statement saying they respect Fullido’s right

to bring her complaints to the court.

V. Alternative Courses of Action

There must be proper determination of the demarcation line between sexual harassment

and socially acceptable behaviors on the point of view of “Boss-Colleague level”.

The “Boss” must set the example for the employees - the best policy in the world will be

useless if management lets employees see through its actions that it does not take the

problems seriously, or worse, if management is part of the problem.

VI. Recommendation

We recommend that the company must adopt a clear policy on sexual harassment,

educate all employees on the various forms sexual harassment can take and on the harm it can

cause, have an organized procedure for quickly and effectively dealing with such complaints

and ensure that everyone knows about it, and they must follow not only the sexual harassment

policy, but also the disciplinary policy - if conflicts exist between the two policies and be careful

on resolving the issue.

VII. Plan of Action

The company must make it clear that the workplace harassment will not be tolerated.

And they must provide education and information about harassment to all staff on a regular

basis. The circulation of information, open communication and guidance is of particular

importance in removing the taboo of silence which often surrounds cases of sexual harassment.

Information sessions, personnel meetings, office meetings, group discussion and problem-

solving groups can prove very effective in this respect. Staff should also be informed of the best

way of coping with aggression by means of guidelines and staff development programs on

sexual harassment at work. Also, they shall develop an anti-harassment policy together with

employees, managers, and union representatives and communicate the policy to all employees.

And lastly, they should make sure that all managers and supervisors understand their

responsibility to provide a harassment-free work environment.

VIII. Potential Problem Analysis

If the policy created is ineffective and not communicated well the company should revise

it and make them contemporary, relevant and more effective than the previous one. Companies

would be well served to reconsider the effectiveness of their sexual harassment

communications and employee training programs. They should ensure they are not just

‘checking the box’ to a perfunctory task. Employees will know you have. Organizations are

clamoring for their employees’ attention in the cacophony of communications overload. Make

your communications ones they will want to read and videos they will be interested in watching.

These efforts should include contemporary approaches and channels and ensure

communications address diverse employee populations. The communications should

reinforce zero tolerance for sexual harassment and resonate across cultures, communities and

generations.

IX. Fallback Analysis

Often, sexual harassment is not corrected or punished because victims may feel

intimidated or uncomfortable when confronting their harasser. Victims of sexual harassment

also often do not report the harassment for fear that they may be retaliated against. When

facing these difficult circumstances, workers should know how to recognize harassment and

when to take action. They should also know what to expect of their employer when filing a

complaint, and how to file a complaint with their supervisor or human resources. Every case of

sexual harassment is different, and the right approach will depend on your particular situation.

It is common for joking, banter and socializing to occur in the workplace. However, when

someone makes a comment or behaves in a way that makes you feel uncomfortable, you

should clearly state that such behavior is unacceptable and demand it to stop. This is
particularly the case when the comment is directed toward you. Also If you are a victim of

harassment, your first step toward resolving the problem should be to let the offending party

know that you find their conduct offensive. In many cases this will resolve the problem, as the

offensive conduct will stop out of a genuine concern for everyone's sensibilities, or out of an

urge to avoid further workplace tension. If the issue isn't resolved at this stage, you have at least

put the harasser on notice that you find his or her conduct offensive.