In defense of the composer of ‘Anak’

This is in defense of Freddie Aguilar. According to letter sender Carnell Valdez, Aguilar is indictable for child abuse (Letters, 11/5/13) and that a lawyer has filed a complaint against Aguilar for the crime of qualified seduction for his affair with a 16-year-old.

Aguilar has been vilified in media by all kinds of people, especially lawyers. It shows again what is wrong with our judicial system: Many lawyers have no common sense and, therefore, no conscience either. I wish that Valdez and Fernando Perito had watched “Headstart,” an ANC morning show of Karen Davila who some time ago interviewed Aguilar.

(Davila is my favorite TV personality because she interviews people with consummate skill and is able to project a true and sincere image of the person interviewed.)

In that show it was very clear that Aguilar is a true artist and by far not a child abuser or a

pedophile or whatever our judicial system can define as a criminal. It showed Aguilar as a sincere human being who “fell in love” with a young woman he didn’t know, at the time their special relationship began, was a minor. Now that he knows, he is ready to wait until the girl is 18 years old and capable of contracting marriage.

Again, in no way is Aguilar a distorted personality as Church authorities have suggested because he is a divorcee from a former marriage. I hope and pray that the couple will remain a happy couple. Mabuhay si Freddie and his girlfriend!

—ARNOLD VAN VUGT,

Cagayan de Oro City,

[email protected]