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Senate to probe Hayden scandal in open session

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abs-cbnNEWS.com | 05/28/2009 10:09 AM

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Senator Jamby Madrigal has turned down the request of cosmetic surgeon Hayden Kho for a closed-door hearing on Thursday on his sex video with sexy actress Katrina Halili.

"For Katrina's sake and for the public to see and hear the testimonies and the stories [behind the video], we need to have an open session," Madrigal told radio dzMM.

The senator, meanwhile, clarified that she will conduct a "partial" executive session to prevent the public from hearing the more prurient details of the sex scandal.

Madrigal also assured the public and some senators, who have suggested to postpone the hearing, that the Hayden-Halili sex video will not be played during the hearing, even on executive session.

Halili and Kho will meet face-to-face for the first time since their sex video became public. Kho has publicly apologized for making the video, but insisted that he was not responsible for putting the videos online.

The hearing will start 1:30 p.m. Thursday.

Lawyer Raymund Palad said his client, Halili, has no more reason to hide and agree to Kho's request for a closed-door hearing.

"Nakita na lahat ang buong katawan dahil sa ginawa ni Hayden (Everybody have seen [Katrina's] body because of what Hayden did)," Palad said.

He also chided Kho's unwillingness to be seen by the public. "Sa mga video, talagang kahit nakahubad kayang humarap. Ngayong nakadamit ayaw humarap sa camera? (In he doesn't mind being seen nude in the videos. Now he doesn't want to face the camera with clothes on?"

Kho's lawyer, Irene Garcia, said her client wants a closed-door hearing to avoid the issue being sensationalized. She, however, said Kho will "definitely" attend the hearing even it's done in open session.

Famous personality distributed sex videos

Madrigal, meanwhile, said that one of her objectives in the hearing is to confirm information about a known person who allegedly bought the sex videos from Kho's friend, Eric Chua.

She said she has information that the videos were distributed by the famous person. She said she has a name, but declined to reveal it without corroboration from the people that she has invited to the hearing.

The senator added that she particularly wants to confirm the person's identity from cosmetic surgeon Vicky Belo, Kho's former girlfriend. She said Belo will be represented by her lawyer in the hearing.

"Merong tao na bumili nito at siya mismo ang nag-distribute nito. Ang aking information ay kilalang tao ito (Someone bought and distributed this video. According to my information, this person is famous)," Madrigal said.

She said Chua and Bistek Rosario, another friend of Kho who has been accused of distributing the video, have also been invited to attend the hearing.