MANILA -- The lawyers of actor Raymart Santiago have responded to Inday Barretto's claims that the actor was abusive to her youngest daughter Claudine Barretto.
The Barretto matriarch made the claim in a vlog of veteran entertainment writer Ogie Diaz, which premiered last October 19.
In his Facebook post on Monday, Diaz uploaded the statement from Atty. Howard Calleja and Atty. Katrin Jessica Distor-Guinigundo, lawyers of Santiago, refuting Mrs. Barretto's claims, saying that it was "untruthful and slanderous."
Screen grab: Facebook/Ogie Diaz
"It is very unfortunate that Mrs. Barreto offered to resort to publicity to spread this untruthful and slanderous narrative about our client and his marriage with Miss Claudine Barretto, who has likewise repeatedly exploited social media and sought recourse through trial by publicity to discredit our client's name and reputation," part of the statement read.
"It appears at the root of Mrs. Barretto's outrage is the conjugal land sold by Miss Claudine three years ago absent the knowledge and consent of our client. Our client refuses to partake in any dispute involving, or irregularity in Miss Claudine and her cohorts may have committed," it added.
The statement also reminded Claudine, her family and her agents of the existing gag order.
"To reiterate, we remind Miss Claudine, her family and agents that there is an existing Gag Order issued by the Family Court, Branch 5 of Mandaluyong City, as early as September 2023, which our client has faithfully complied with, having kept his peace all these years. It is his hope that Miss Claudine, her family, and her agents would do the same, out of respect for the courts of justice and more importantly, for the sake of their children. Finally, let this be final warning that any utterances in contravention of the law shall be dealt with before the appropriate forum to protect our clients's rights and to preserve his interests," the statement ended.
Raymart Santiago reminds ex-wife Claudine Barretto of gag order in annulment case
Claudine and Santiago were married in May 2004. They separated in May 2013, and subsequently took their feud to court. They have two children.