During her interview on “Showbiz Central” last Nov. 29, director-actress Gina Alajar cited several points against “The Buzz” which she alleged used her Facebook status message without permission as an angle for one of their Manny Pacquaio-Krista Ranillo segments.
 
Gina pointed out that during a tete-a-tete among its hosts over another issue involving Krista and Manny’s wife, Jinkee, Kris Aquino kept silent on the details because Jinkee did not give her permission to talk about it in public.
 
“Sinasabi ng host na hindi puwedeng i-disclose ‘yung mga pinag-usapan nila ni Jinkee kasi walang pahintulot. Eh ‘yun naman pala eh!
 
“Alam niyo pala na hindi puwedeng ilabas nang walang pahintulot, eh bakit walang pahintulot from me, inilabas nila? Parang ginagago nila ako,” Gina blurted out during the “Intriga Crossfire” segment on “Showbiz Central.”
 
Feeling “victimized” and “invaded upon,” she wondered aloud, if not sarcastically, how people from “The Buzz” was able to access her account considering no one from the show is on her friends list.
 
“Wala akong kaibigan from ‘The Buzz’. Wala ni isang tao sa ‘The Buzz’ na nasa friends list ko. So hindi ko alam kung papano nila nabuksan ‘yung profile page ko at ibinalandra sa show nila,” she said.
 
According to her, she only found out that the show used her status message through a broadsheet reporter who had sought her reaction.
 
Gina added that she relayed her displeasure to “The Buzz” reporter Jobert Sucaldito immediately.
 
“Sinabi ko sa kanya [Jobert na] I am not pleased with what they did, na fineature nila sa ‘The Buzz’ ‘yung profile page ko.
 
“Sabi niya, ‘Sa paniwala ko po, ang shout-out is making yourself public.’ [Sabi ko,] ‘Jobert wala kayong permiso na ilabas ‘yan dahil ‘yan ay private sa’kin,” Gina said.
 
She revealed that “The Buzz” Executive Producer, Nancy Yabut, called her up two days after the segment aired. The actress-director said that Yabut confessed that they did not get her permission due to time constraints.
 
“Nagmamadali daw sila sa storya. Madaling araw na daw nila natapos. Nahiya na raw silang tawagan ako para humingi ng permiso.”
 
And how does Gina feel about it?
 
“Wow, wow talaga. Nahiya silang guluhin ako, istorbohin ako para humingi ng permiso, pero hindi sila nahiya na i-feature ‘yun [Facebook status] sa show nila nang walang permiso.”
 
She added that a few days later, Yabut sent her a basket of fruits with a letter that read: “Dear Direk Gina Alajar: ‘The Buzz’ would like to sincerely apologize for any discomfort it may have caused you, and that experiences of this nature will never happen again. Again, our apologies and our best regards. Sincerely yours, Nancy Yabut.”
 
Gina said: “Ito lang ba ‘yun? After ng gulong ginawa nila, after ipitin nila ako sa isang gulong di ko naman gustong maipit? And we’re talking of professionalism here!”
 
She said she carefully studied Facebook’s privacy settings upon creating her account.
 
“Unang-unang sign up ko pa lang sa Facebook, ang unang-una kong pinag-aralan [ay] ‘yung privacy settings. Kasi ayoko nung may nag-a-add sa’kin na di ko kakilala. Ayoko ‘yung hindi ako libre sa mga ginagawa ko. Ayoko ‘yung may stalker ako na susundan ‘yung lahat ng ginagawa ko. Kaya nga wala akong Twitter eh,” she said.
 
Gina is still weighing her legal options. She demands for a public apology from “The Buzz” even as Krista Ranillo and her family demands the same from her.
 
The director-actress asserted, though, that the Ranillos will not get one from her.
 
“There’s nothing to apologize for. Sabi nga ni Geoff [Eigenmann, one of Gina’s sons], ‘We have been waiting for an apology for a long time’.”
 
Asked if she holds a grudge against Krista, Gina said: “Alam mo kung personal grudge…napakatagal nang panahon ‘yan. Naglaho na ‘yan.”
 
She said that her controversial shout-out was that of one sympathizing with wives like herself; particularly Jinkee, whom she addressed directly in the status message.
 
“Ang naramdaman ko ay ang naramdaman ng halos lahat ng maybahay na Pilipino. Random thoughts. Isang babae na parang humihingi lang ng hustisya sa kapwa niya babae. Nakiki-simpatiya sa isang kapwa niya babae.
 
“Kaya nga private page mo ‘yun eh. So bakit may censorship? Bakit ko ise-censor ang sarili ko?”