It’s been a week since the trial began, pitting Ms. Jhannie Ancheta, an employee of Asia Pacific Lifts, Inc. against her alleged sexual harasser, Mr. Uy Huang Lo, General Manager of the same firm.

Several witnesses have already taken the stand or have given their sworn depositions.

There was Mr. Ventura who testified in favor of Ms. Ancheta, Mr. Bautista who remained neutral, Mr. Eric Collum – a most formidable witness for the complainant, Mrs. Canida who was  the deputy manager and who showed disdain toward Ms. Ancheta’s audacity in bringing up this case, Mrs. Cayetano who was recalled and a neutral witness bordering on one with a lapsed memory.

Then the lesser known witnesses – the guard, Bong the driver, Mr. Cabuyao and Mr. Lanuza also took the stand with their own answers and versions of the story from their own vantage point.

Edna did not want to testify at all. She refused all offers.

Now it was show time.

“Your honor, we would like to call on our next witness,” the complainant’s legal counsel said as he addressed the bench.

“You may call on your next witness,” the Judge replied.

“We call on Ms. Jhannie Ancheta to the stand.”

Silence reigned in the courtroom you could have heard a pin drop. This was it. The moment everybody had waited for. There were tabloid newspaper reporters all over the place. The paparazzi was busy snapping mug shots and snap shots of everybody seated in the courtroom and those who were walking in and out of the courtroom.

The ghastly silence was broken by Ms. Ancheta’s footsteps as she proceeded to the witness stand. She was wearing high heeled shoes, a black A-line skirt that accented her nicely shaped hips, a red blouse with a black velvet sport coat. She appeared ready for battle.

The bailiff approached the witness, “State your name for the record.”

“Jhannie Ancheta,” came the reply.

“Raise your right hand. Do you swear to tell the truth and nothing but the truth so help you God?” the Bailiff continued administering the oath.

“I do,” Ms. Ancheta confidently affirmed.

Ms. Ancheta’s legal counsel approached the witness stand, “Ms. Ancheta, please recall for the court the events that ensued on the evening of September 14th, the evening in question, when Mr. Uy savagely tried to sexually assault you.”

“Objection your Honor; leading the witness,” cried out Mr. Uy’s attorney.

“Sustained! Legal counsel will refrain from making conclusions for the witness,” cautioned the Judge.

“I withdraw the question your Honor. Now Ms. Ancheta please tell the court what happened on the evening of September 14th.” Ms. Ancheta’s legal counsel moved back a bit so that Ms. Ancheta will have a wider stage and an unobstructed view of the jury panel.

Slowly, Ms. Ancheta began. “I was working late that night. . . in… in… the of…ffice,” she began to stammer and stutter, the pain of having to recall and relive the events of that fateful evening definitely registering on her face. She tried to stifle a sob.

“Go on,” said her lawyer encouragingly. “Take your time and tell the court what happened.”

“General Manager Uy came out of his office, walked behind my chair and began to rub his genitals on my shoulders, my arms…. Oh my God… do I have to state these things?”

“The witness will answer the question,” came the order from the Judge.

“I was in shock. I couldn’t believe what was happening. Why would Mr. Uy do these things to me? What have I done to earn his disrespect? How did I deserve such vulgar treatment? Many thoughts ran through my head. I kept my fingers on the keyboard and continued typing. Mr. Uy switched sides. He came around to my left. He took my left arm and led my hand toward the area of his genitals. He even did some pelvic thrusts to let me know what was on his mind.”

“Objection your Honor. How could this witness know what was on my client’s mind?” barked Mr. Uy’s attorney.

“The witness will stick to the facts,” admonished the Judge. “Strike that last part of this witnesses’ testimony about what was on the mind of the accused.”

“I felt like crying. I felt that my trust in Mr. Uy had been betrayed. I felt violated and humiliated.”

“And what did you do?” asked Ms. Ancheta’s attorney.

“I bolted up to leave. I rushed out of the door and ran out of the building.”

“Your witness,” offered Ms. Ancheta’s attorney to Mr. Uy’s legal counsel. “You may cross examine.”

“Ms. Ancheta, how is your father’s health been these days?” began Mr. Uy’s attorney.

“My father is very sick, Sir.”

“Ms. Ancheta, you are the main bread winner for your family, are you not?”

“Yes, Sir. My father can no longer work and my three brothers are in school.”

“You support your family with your salary. It says in this report from personnel that you make about P25 an hour. An excellent salary for an executive secretary but still not enough to support a family of five people. How do you augment your salary, Ms. Ancheta?”

“Objection your Honor. I don’t see the relevance of this line of questioning,” complained Ms. Ancheta’s attorney.

“If it please the court,” Mr. Uy’s counsel immediately pleaded. “We are trying to establish Ms. Acheta’s overtime work and why she was working late that evening in question.”

“Objection over-ruled. You may continue with your line of questioning.”

“Ms. Ancheta, how often do you work overtime for Mr. Uy? Say in a week’s period.”

“Three or four times.”

“And you work as late as 11:00 PM sometimes, do you not?”

“Sometimes.”

“Tell the court what Mr. Uy did when you worked for him overtime – say, on September 9th.”

“Well, he ordered chicken dinners for him and for me, Sir.”

“Did you request him to order you dinner?”

“No Sir.”

“Didn’t Mr. Uy, out of the goodness of his heart, not only on the night of September 9th but on many occasions order for you dinner while you worked overtime hours, but also would even have his own driver take you home in the company car so that you don’t have to ride the bus? Isn’t it also true that you have poured your heart out to Mr. Uy about your father’s condition and illness to which he responded to you with all kindness, compassion and generosity by bringing some medicine from Hong Kong specially for your father to use and giving you some pocket money during Christmas? Isn’t it true that Mr. Uy acted more like a second father to you instead of this savage molester monster you have painted him to be?”

“Objection your Honor. Badgering the witness!”

“Sustained!”

“Ms. Ancheta, didn’t you file a sexual harrassment grievance against your Data Processing teacher when you were yet attending college? And that it was dismissed for lack of evidence?”

“I don’t remember.”

“Well, let me refresh your memory. The fact is, you would have also sued your ROTC cadet corps commander for ordering his plebes to perform a panty raid, ransacking your room and the other co-ed’s rooms in the school dormitory hadn’t you been selected to be the Homecoming Queen. What say you to that?”

“Objection your Honor. Irrelevant!”

“Sustained!”

“Ms. Ancheta, when Mr. Uy tried to place your left hand over his genitals, did you feel rigidity in the body of his member?”

“I don’t remember. . .”

“You said Mr. Uy even thrust his pelvis. Were you aware that Mr. Uy suffers from Erectile Dysfunction (ED)?”

Ms. Ancheta was silent; too shocked to answer. They had warned her about the graphic nature of the trial. They warned her that she was only putting herself through the grinder.

“The witness will answer the question,” boomed the Judge.

“No, Sir. What is Erectile Dysfunction?”

“Mr. Uy cannot get it up. . . he cannot consummate the sexual act even if he wants to because he cannot get his penis stiff and to come to some useful state of rigidity – that is what erectile dysfunction means.”

“I’m sorry,” Ms. Ancheta whispered underneath her breath. “I couldn’t have known.”

“Frankly, your accusation that he wants to have sex with you is ludicrous and unbelievable! Mr. Uy might as well have been a eunuch. He has no overt interest in such things. Were you also aware that Mr. Uy suffers from Rheumatoid Arthritis and that he cannot sometimes control his direction when walking because of the extreme pain in his joints? Could it be that he may have staggered and bumped unto your arm as he approached your desk Ms. Ancheta?”

“Objection! Badgering the witness!” blurted out Ms. Ancheta’s lawyer before Ms. Ancheta could reply to the rapid fire questioning. In fact, her silence was so golden the jury panel had become almost lulled into dreamless slumber.

“Sustained!”

“I have no further questions, your honor. But we reserve the right to recall this witness at an opportuned time.”

Ms. Ancheta’s attorney couldn’t believe his ears. He knew that Mr. Uy was being accused of sexual harrassment and he may very well have made advances toward his client but he couldn’t believe that there was more to his client’s  and Mr. Uy’s relationship than Ms. Ancheta was willing to divulge.

In an effort to salvage what was left of Ms. Ancheta’s testimony and standing, her lawyer tried to ask her a couple more questions but it was all for naught. The damage had already been done. Ms. Ancheta looked like some woman of the night, some ingrate who was biting the hand that fed her.

“This court is in recess,” the Judge proclaimed as he banged the gavel.