Nag-public apology ang comedy writer na si Chito Francisco sa kapwa niya komedyanteng si Alex Calleja matapos niya akusahang ninakaw nito ang kanyang "carwash" joke.

Sa isang pahayag na ipinost sa Facebook, inamin ni Francisco na may ebidensya si Calleja na siya ang unang nagsulat ng joke at wala raw umanong basehan ang kanyang akusasyon.

"I deeply regret what I have done to Alex, considering that my comments created and caused due and undue harm against him. I know Alex as a gentle soul, and by making those statements, it was wrong of me to put him in a bad light with false and baseless allegations," ani Francisco.

"Worse, these comments went viral on social media, which led the public to insult him and question his integrity as a writer," dagdag niya.

Inamin ni Francisco na hindi niya naisip ang bigat ng pinsala na idinulot niya kay Calleja, hindi lamang sa personal kundi pati sa propesyonal nitong buhay.

Dagdag pa niya, kung maaari lamang niyang bawiin ang kanyang sinabi, gagawin niya, ngunit huli na ang lahat dahil nagdulot na ito ng matinding epekto kay Calleja.

"As a result of my statements, Alex suffered so much backlash and damage, which include online bashing, and having the public attack his credibility, which is extremely damaging to his career," sabi ng comedy writer.

"While l apologized to Alex privately, saying that what I had said was just friendly teasing that was common among the circle of writers, I crossed the line when I went public with my accusations against him, and involved the public in our exchange. Because the situation got out of hand, I felt that there was a need to clear the air on this matter and to extend my deepest apologies to Alex on a public forum, and commit to make things right with him," saad niya pa.

Nanawagan din siya sa mga blogger at netizen na burahin na ang kanilang mga post ukol sa kanyang akusasyon.

Nauunawaan aniyang may legal na epekto ang kanyang ginawa at umaasa siyang sa pamamagitan ng kanyang public apology ay maipapakita niya ang kanyang pagsisisi sa kanyang pagkakamali.

Samantala, tinanggap ni Calleja ang apology ni Francisco.

Ipinost niya muli ang pahayag sa Facebook na may caption na: "Apology accepted. Now let's move!"

Pinasalamatan din niya ang kanyang mga abogado, sina Atty. Howie Calleja at Atty. Lorna Kapunan. #