On the recent issue between actress Claudine Barretto and former sexy star Sabrina M., former Comelec Commissioner Atty. Rowena Guanzon stepped in and shared her thoughts about Barretto’s threat to take legal actions.
The issue started with Sabrina M. claiming that after Barretto and Rico Yan broke up, the former sexy star and Yan had been in a romantic affair. She claimed that Yan’s older brother knew of their relationship.
In response to the claim, Barretto’s legal counsel Atty. Ferdinand Topacio announced last July 13 on ‘Cristy Ferminute’ that they would take legal actions against the former sexy star if she refuses to give Barretto and Yan’s family a public apology.
Topacio revealed that they would most likely file a libel case against Sabrina M. He argued that the claims were impossible due to conflicting timelines. He also argued that despite their separation, Barretto and Yan continued to live together until his death.
Guanzon gave a reaction to this on Twitter last July 17, claiming that Barretto has no ‘standing’ to file a case against Sabrina M.
“Ang tanong naman dyan, sino naman may karapatan magbayad ng libel sa tending to blacken the memory of one who’s dead. Asawa ba siya? Kapatid, anak ba siya? o ina ba siya? Oh hinde, edi hindi siya pwedeng siya ang magsampa ng kaso. Ang tawag dun wala siyang standing, wala kang karapatan. Sa true lang, mahirap na yung maniwala tayo sa mga pa-astig astig lang ng mga abogado,” she said in a video.
Libel : tending to blacken the memory ng patay. May K ba sya ? pic.twitter.com/a02UNjxLlv
— Rowena Guanzon (@rowena_guanzon) July 17, 2023
Guanzon and Topacio’s personal conflict has been publicly known as they previously met in court on different occasions.
In August 2020, Guanzon filed unjust vexation against Topacio due to his claims that the former had an Alzheimer’s Disease like her deceased mother. In June 2022, she also filed a disbarment case to the Integrated Bar of the Philippines due to Topacio’s defamatory online comments.
In February 2023, Topacio sent an indirect contempt petition to the Supreme Court against Guanzon because she revealed to the public her disbarment case against him.
Amid the current feud, Sita Yan, the mother of the deceased, appealed to stop using her son’s name for personal gain. Ogie Diaz revealed the official statement of the family on his vlog last July 17. The mother said that the claims made regarding her deceased son were unfair as he is no longer present to give any response. She asked to leave her son’s name and their family in peace.
The issue continues to escalate with Sabrina M.’s refusal to give a public apology.
