Emotional Claudine surfaces in court

Court issues gag order on actress' camp

MANILA -- An emotional Claudine Barretto surfaced Tuesday at the Marikina Regional Trial Court to attend a hearing for the temporary protection order (TPO) she filed Monday against her estranged husband, actor Raymart Santiago.

The 34-year-old actress was accompanied to the venue by her sister, Mitchie, and her legal counsel, Atty. Ferdinand Topacio.

The "Mula sa Puso" star, who refused to grant any interview, was seen crying as she made her way to the clerk of court together with her sister, as well as when she exited the building.

Topacio, who met with family court judge Geraldine Macaraig, said his client's camp had been issued a gag order, which disallows them to talk about any matter related to the case.

The hearing for the TPO, Topacio added, was rescheduled to a later date, which means Barretto's request to bar Santiago from being within 300 meters of her and their children has yet to be granted.

The former couple have two children -- an adopted daughter, Sabina, 9; and a biological son, Santino, 6.

Barretto earlier refused to give details about the TPO, including the reason behind her seeking the measure.

"Ayaw ko talagang magsalita. I am not ready to talk. I don't want to talk. I just want to be protected. I just want my children to be protected. 'Yun lang masasabi ko," she said in an interview on radio dzMM Monday.


Santiago, for his part, spoke for the first time through a statement released Tuesday denying "accusations" supposedly thrown against him by his wife.

 He said there is no truth to speculations that he physically hurt his children and Barretto, adding he will address the matter in court "in the right time." -- Report from Ginger Conejero, ABS-CBN News

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

James' camp raises adoption issue against Kris

MANILA – The camp of star cager James Yap believes there’s a deeper reason television host Kris Aquino has filed for a temporary protection order (TPO) against her former husband.

The request for a temporary protection order (TPO) against Yap was filed by Aquino on March 15 before a Makati City court, and was granted on the same day with an effectivity duration of 30 days.

The TPO requires Yap to keep a distance of at least 100 meters from Aquino, their son James "Bimby" Yap Jr. and any household member. It also orders the basketball player to stay away from any place frequented by Aquino and their son, such as their home and Bimby’s school.

But Yap’s legal counsel Lorna Kapunan said the TPO filing may just be an afterthought after her client decided not to sign the consent affidavit that would allow Aquino to legally adopt their son.

Aquino and Yap were married in civil rites in July 2005. Their marriage was declared null and void in February last year.

“That is crucial in a marriage kung walang authority ang nagkasal, talagang void at walang bisa ang marriage at ang epekto noon, ang anak ng marriage na iyon are illegitimate. As a result of that petition which Kris filed, Baby James is now an illegitimate child of the both of them,” she said.

“Kris wants to adopt Bimby. The result of that is if a person is adopted, if Bimby is adopted by Kris, James will lose all parental authority over Bimby. If you are not married, you cannot jointly adopt, but the biological father needs to give consent. He did not give consent to the adoption,” she added.

Kapunan said it is "incredible" that Aquino is filing for a TPO three months after Yap allegedly forced himself on her.

“Three months ago pa iyon. Kung totoo talaga iyon, one would logically say, why would James do that? He may be naive but he’s not crazy. There are security guards there, this is the first family, they have security guards. The condo has security guards. If this is really true and she was molested and James physically abused or tried to have carnal knowledge of her, then she should have reported it if not to the barangay or to the police, at least to the security guards. And added security measure,” she said.

Kapunan said this is why they were shocked about Aquino’s most recent move.

“Tinanong namin si James and sadly it has occurred after such time that James refused to sign adoption papers,” she said.

According to Kapunan, Yap has already moved on from his relationship with Aquino, adding that he is no longer romantically involved with her.

“This is not about James versus Kris. I can tell you from what we have learned from James na prior to this petition, there has been no animosity. There has been very great respect for the elder brother, notwithstanding the fact that Kris has used as a threat to James that they are still in power, which we think is uncalled for,” she said.

Calling the Aquino-Yap romance a closed chapter, Kapunan said: “He has moved on and not to intrude into his private life, he has new romantic interest.”

Kapunan said Yap is a “father just wanting to exercise his rights in visitation under the law.”

“That’s why we are wondering bakit naman domestic violence ang ginamit dito? If she really didn’t want visitation rights, then she should have gone to the same court [that nullified their marriage] because an order for visitation and support is never final. The court that ordered it can always modify for the best interest of the child,” she said.

“That’s why to file a separate case for domestic violence, I think is cruel. It’s cruel especially since the child now will be dragged into another case or maybe hindi dapat dumating sa ganito kung totoo man ang sinasabi ni Kris na traumatized si Bimby. The father and mother can still talk to each other if really that is the purpose of the petition,” Kapunan added.


Meanwhile, in a separate interview, Aquino’s legal counsel Francisco Chavez said Bimby adoption is “totally immaterial and irrelevant” as to why the TV host filed for a TPO.

"Even assuming for the sake of argument that there was such an attempt to apply for adoption on behalf of the son, that is totally immaterial and irrelevant to the issues raised in the petition," the lawyer said.

"The other side, meaning Mr. James Yap, should only limit himself to the issues raised in court," he added.

source: abs-cbnnews.com

Bimby may testify vs James, Kris' camp says

MANILA, Philippines -- James "Bimby" Yap, Jr. may testify against his father James Yap in seeking the permanent effectivity of a protection order against the basketball player, according to the legal counsel of the 5-year-old's mother Kris Aquino.



In an interview with ABS-CBN News' Ginger Conejero on Thursday, Atty. Francisco Chavez said the child may appear in court to "affirm what is stated in our petition."

The request for a temporary protection order (TPO) against Yap was filed by Aquino on March 15 before a Makati City court, and was granted on the same day with an effectivity duration of 30 days.

The TPO requires Yap to keep a distance of at least 100 meters from Aquino, Bimby and any household member. It also orders the basketball player to stay away from any place frequented by Aquino and their son, such as their home and Bimby’s school.

Aquino is now seeking to make the TPO permanent.

Chavez has said a court hearing is set on April 8 where Aquino will appear as witness against her former husband.

"If we can save the child from testifying, we will," Chavez said. "It all depends on what the court requires. If the court says she has to listen to the child, the child is ready to testify. He is a very intelligent 5-year-old kid."

Asked if he feels Bimby will be able to make his "own decision" considering his age, the lawyer said, "Let's put it this way -- we cannot expect much from a 5-year-old kid, but he understands what he is doing."

Son 'hates' dad

The TPO stems from an incident last December 3, when Yap allegedly attempted to "force himself" on Aquino in front of Bimby.

Addressing the belated filing of a petition against Yap, Chavez said subsequent incidents where Yap supposedly caused "distress" on Bimby had Aquino convinced she should take the matter to court.

Following the alleged encounter in December, Chavez said that separate similar incidents -- one in January, and two early this month -- prompted Aquino "to save the child from any kind of further trauma."

The lawyer went on to detail the alleged incident on March 13, when Bimby supposedly showed signs that he "hated" his father.

According to Chavez, Yap and his son had a phone conversation, which was recorded on video with the basketball player's consent.

"The video would show that the child panicked, the child freaked out, and exhibited really adverse reaction to just hearing the voice of the father... Anybody who will witness that will [see] how the child hates him," he said.

This footage of the phone conversation, Chavez said, was "precisely the turning point for the judge to issue the TPO."

Bimby's adoption

Chavez, likewise, addressed the allegation of Yap's camp that Aquino's filing of a TPO against her former husband was an "afterthought," following the star cager's refusal to consent to the actress' move to legally adopt their child.

"Even assuming for the sake of argument that there was such an attempt to apply for adoption on behalf of the son, that is totally immaterial and irrelevant to the issues raised in the petition," the lawyer said.

"The other side, meaning Mr. James Yap, should only limit himself to the issues raised in court," he added.

Asked on the legal issues surrounding the alleged planned adoption, Chavez said, "Since the child is illegitimate according to the decision of the court, then Kris could possibly apply for adoption, so the child can bear the family name Aquino."

On whether there is still chance that Aquino will reconsider seeking the permanent effectivity of the protection order, Chavez said "there is no compromise."

The lawyer said, however, that legally, Bimby can make a decision in relation to the protection order once he turns 7. Chavez said there may yet be chance for the family to reconcile, given time.

"It depends on the parties on how they will resolve that. As I said, time is a great healer, and circumstances could possibly provide a window for healing these wounds," he said.

source: abs-cbnnews.com