'I'm here for him': Gary V asked about Jim Paredes' scandal

MANILA – Gary Valenciano said he is not in a position to judge his good friend Jim Paredes, who recently got embroiled in a controversy after a video scandal of him made the rounds online.

Speaking at a press conference, Valenciano said he is saddened over what happened to Paredes but he assured the singer that he will still have his back.

“Well, as an OPM singer, siyempre malungkot ako sa nangyari sa kanya,” PEP quoted Valenciano to have said.

“Kung 'yun ang mangyari sa akin, I would love to have even one person to be able to come up to me and say, 'You know what, let’s stick together,'” he added.

Velanciano, however, said he has yet to talk to Paredes.

“ know he needs time on his own. This is something na medyo mahirap harapin,” he said.

“I know many people will put him down. Pero ako, dahil alam ko rin ang mga pagkakamali ko sa buhay, nabigyan ako ng pagkakataon. I was forgiven many times also, I put myself in that situation also,” he said.

On Tuesday, Paredes confirmed the authenticity of his viral sex video but said it was not meant for public consumption.

"The video was real. It was private, and not meant for public consumption. I do not know how it became public," he wrote on his blog "Writing on Air."

The APO Hiking Society member said he was in a quandary after seeing the video leaked to social media but decided to come clean after praying about it.

"There are already too many lies and liars in this world. I do not wish to be a part of that cabal. I have chosen to be truthful because I know that painful as the truth can be, it will eventually set me free," he said.

The 67-year-old musician, known for being a vocal critic of the current administration, suspects the incident as politically motivated.

He also admitted he is "a flawed person, a human being, much like everyone else." He also begged for forgiveness from his family who are affected by the scandal.