Gretchen calls Claudine’s statements ‘untrue… half-truths’

All quiet on the Barretto front – or so it seems.

Since their family feud – Gretchen Barretto on one side, and sisters Claudine and Marjorie and their mom Inday on the other side – unfolded on national television last year, the protagonists have remained tight-lipped, making people think that, thank God, they have finally made peace with one another away from the glare of the cameras.

Or so it seems.

For her part, Claudine has been quoted in interviews that she and Marjorie are "okay now" with Gretchen who, Claudine said, was invited to her and Raymart Santiago’s planned wedding next year. Well and good.

It has turned out that not all’s well yet with the Barrettos as shown by the following letter by Gretchen’s lawyer Alma D. Fernandez-Mallonga, writing on behalf of the Siguion-Reyna Montecillo & Ongsiako law office, a copy of which was sent to Funfare by a VIP who requested anonymity. For Gretchen’s lawyer to write this kind of letter only means that the issues they’re raising are of great import. Read on:

This is in regard to certain statements made by Ms. Claudine Barretto that have been published in the August 21, 2005 issue of the Bulletin which we understand have been repeated by her in various interviews over several AM stations. These statements affect our client, Ms. Gretchen Barretto, insofar as they assert that: (1) Ms. Gretchen Barretto had been invited to Claudine’s wedding; (2) Ms. Gretchen Barretto had talked to Claudine in January and, as a result, the relationship between them was now "okay"; and (3) Ms. Gretchen Barretto and Marjorie Barretto "are now okay, too."

For a long time now, Ms. Gretchen Barretto has purposely kept her peace and steadfastly maintained her silence in regard to any and all aspects of her relationship with members of her family. These, after all, are purely private matters that should not be fodder for gossip and, cruel and misplaced, speculation. Moreover, it is only through assiduous insistence on respecting the privacy of family relationships that meaningful reconnections can be nurtured. Privacy, of course, also prevents and discourages distortions of the truth. The reality is that "truth" has many versions, and it is the version presented for public consumption that is almost always anchored on self-serving, personal motivations and, for that reason, often misstates the truth.

While Ms. Gretchen Barretto has been, and continues to be for the reasons aforestated, extremely loath to make any public disclosures on the present state of her relationship with her sisters Claudine and Marjorie, she is nonetheless bent on ensuring that she is not used to perpetrate any untruth, even half-truths which ultimately amount to the same thing. Being true to herself as well as honesty to the public to whom she owes much are values that Ms. Gretchen Barretto has learned to hold dear to her heart, whatever the personal cost may be to her. It is for this reason that she now makes the following clarifications:

1. It is not true that Claudine has personally invited Ms. Gretchen Barretto to attend her wedding. It is highly unlikely, therefore, that Ms. Barretto would be part of Claudine’s entourage or that her wedding plans could be affected in any way by Ms. Barretto.

2. Ms. Gretchen Barretto and Claudine have spoken but once this year, on January 11, 2005 at between 4 to 5:30 p.m. In that conversation they had, it is true that Claudine asked if it was possible for Ms. Barretto to forgive her for certain actions she had done and statements which she had issued, all of which had caused much pain and anguish to Ms. Barretto in large part because they were made in a manner calculated to seize maximum public interest and attention. Claudine had assured Ms. Barretto that her contrition was genuine and would be accompanied by a public retraction and/or clarification of the damaging and hurtful statements she had issued. To date, this has not been done. Under those circumstances, Claudine’s announcement that everything between her and Ms. Barretto is "okay" is a puzzling assertion, even as it is obviously incorrect.

3. Because Ms. Gretchen Barretto and Marjorie have not spoken since February 2004, Claudine’s assertion that "Gretchen and Marjorie are okay now, too" is a statement mischievously devoid of any factual basis. It is, moreover, an intrusive statement that Claudine should know she has no competence or authority to make.

We will interpose no objections to the publication of the foregoing as our response, in behalf of our client, to the public pronouncements of Claudine.

Very truly yours,

SIGUION-REYNA MONTECILLO & ONGSIAKO

By:

ALMA D. FERNANDEZ-MALLONGA

Maximo Oliveros

wins top prize at Montreal fest Filipino indie films are making history in international film festivals by winning one grand award after another. After Masahista which won as Best Picture (digital category) at the recent Locarno International Film Festival in Switzerland, another indie film, Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros, has just bagged the Best Picture award at the Montreal International Film Festival. Here’s the "flash" report by Funfare’s Toronto-based "international correspondent" Ferdinand Lapuz:

Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros won the Golden Zenith Award in the First Films World Competition at the Montreal World Film Festival. The Silver Zenith Award went to the German film Truth or Dare (Wahrheit Oder Pflicht) by Jan Martin Scharf, Arne Nolting and the Bronze Zenith Award to London, from the US, directed by Hunter Richards and starring Jessica Biel and Leelee Sobieski.

Director Auraeus Solito and producer Raymond Lee were in attendance and received the award personally. The film had an additional screening last Sept. 5 due to insistent public demand. I spoke with Danielle Cauchard, the assistant festival director and she mentioned that it is one of the most talked about films in the festival and she is proud that she programmed the film for the festival. I submitted the film past their deadline and it was really a blessing that it was included in their program.

This year seems to be very good for the Filipino movie industry especially the indie cinema. This is the second major award by a Filipino film in an A-list festival after Brillante Mendoza’s Masahista the Golden Leopard (co winner, video program) in Locarno. It will be screened at the Toronto International Film Festival starting this Thursday, Sept. 8.

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