Kris Aquino at peace after reaching agreement with James Yap

By: Marinel R. Cruz - 11 years ago

KRIS Aquino. FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—“I can see that James has a genuine desire to make up for lost time. More than relief, I feel that I’m now at peace,” said actress-TV host Kris Aquino, who on Wednesday has finally agreed with ex-husband, basketball star James Yap, on the terms for custody and visitation for their six-year-old son, James Jr. or Bimby.

Aquino and Yap on Wednesday reached a settlement before the Makati Regional Trial Court with Cristina Sulit as presiding judge. Yap could visit Bimby once a week starting March 7, according to Aquino. The custody of Bimby will remain with Aquino until the child turns 18.

Aquino said Sulit had presented the ideal setup for Bimby.

“James’ previous schedule with Bimb was three consecutive nights in a month. This never pushed through because Bimb didn’t want to sleep at his place,” Aquino explained.

“Now it’s up to James whether he wants to see Bimb on a Friday or a Saturday, or after school. Judge Sulit told James that there would come a time when Bimb would be comfortable enough to have a sleep over, that James should take it slow and give the child a chance,” she added.

Aquino said she was also “amenable” to Yap taking Bimby on an out-of-town trip during the summer. “The only thing is, his brother Josh has to be present. Bimb never agrees without his Kuya. The judge said James would shoulder the trip and he agreed,” she shared with the INQUIRER.

The actress-TV host believed that the new agreement signaled a “good start” for her and Yap. “It will just take effort on both of our parts. I’ve realized my responsibility in shaping the way Bimb will look at his father. For the past four years, it was just Kuya, me and him. It’s a journey for Bimb, too, but I don’t think it’s too late. As a parent you realize that you have to make allowances for the well-being of your child.”

Aquino admitted there were many failed attempts to come up with a settlement between the two parties. “As the judge mentioned, Bimb’s relationship with his father was shaped in great part by his relationship with me. So while there was animosity, Bimb was also reluctant to have a relationship with James,” Aquino explained.

She said her relationship with Yap had a “thawing out” in December while she was promoting the movie “My Little Bossings,” which she coproduced.

The comedy film featured Bimby and Ryzza Mae Dizon in the lead role. “I saw that he exerted effort to help promote the film.

He even arranged for block screenings,” she said. “When my new show [with Boy Abunda] ‘A&A’ was just starting, James’ team had a bad game against Ginebra and I spoke on his behalf. This also thawed the ice between us. When I celebrated my birthday, I got a text message that said, “Happy birthday! Thank you for being the best mom to Bimby.” I replied, “Who is this please?” He said, “James.” I asked, “Yap?” And then he texted back, “Oo.”

Yap celebrated his birthday with Bimby on Feb. 15, Aquino added.

“Attorney Sig (Fortun, her legal counsel) and Attorney Lorna (Kapuna, who represented Yap) both agreed that it was now the right time to have a conference with the judge while the two of us seemed to be in a good place in our lives,” Aquino said. The Wednesday meeting was scheduled at 2 p.m.

At the court room, Kris recalled: “We were laughing already. James said, ‘Ikaw ba ‘yan? Nagbago talaga ihip ng hangin!’ You see, Bimb is only turning 7, at least for the next 11 years of his life or until he reaches adulthood, James and I really have to share. I said so let’s not make it difficult anymore.”

(Email mcruz@inquirer.com.ph)