Kris, James agree on son’s custody

MANILA, Philippines - Television host Kris Aquino and her ex-husband, Philippine Basketball Association player James Yap, have finally reached a “long-term” agreement on the visitation and custody of their son, Bimby.

Aquino, in an instagram post on Tuesday, thanked their respective lawyers – Sigfrid Fortun and Lorna Kapunan – and Marikina Regional Trial Court Judge Cristina Sulit for helping them reach the agreement “after a “four-year journey that needed mutual healing, acceptance, and maturity,” ABS-CBN reported yesterday.

“At the end of the day as parents we want Bimb to grow up feeling loved and secure,” she said in the caption of a photo collage showing her with Yap and Sulit.

Aquino said she and her former husband “weren’t blessed (with) a happy ending, but through God’s grace we have been given a chance to have an ‘And They Lived Happily Ever After.’”

She did not detail the arrangement with Yap.

Aquino and Yap were married in civil rites in July 2005. Their marriage was declared null in February 2012, following allegations of infidelity on Yap’s part.

The former couple had a previous agreement on the visitation and custody of Bimby that was settled in court in July 2013, following their controversial row over allegations that Yap “made amorous advances” on Aquino in front of their son, which he denied.

The two met in court numerous times, but eventually settled on the compromise that both parties referred to at the time as beneficial to Bimby.

However, in January, Aquino and Yap made headlines once again when the San Mig Coffee player claimed he had not seen Bimby for almost five months. But Aquino said Yap “just hasn’t exerted effort,” noting there were no “legal or personal reasons” preventing him from seeing their son.

In February, Aquino expressed willingness to make peace with Yap, who referred to time spent with Bimby during his birthday as his “happiest moment.”