Ramon Tulfo INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines – Veteran TV host and Philippine Daily Inquirer columnist Ramon Tulfo said Claudine Barretto deserved the public’s understanding.
“I have forgiven her a long time ago. She should be treated with understanding,” Tulfo told INQUIRER.net over the phone on Friday shortly after it was reported that Barretto made peace with his brother, Raffy, also a broadcast journalist.
Tulfo was sought for comment after Barretto posted an Instagram photo of her and his brother.
“She should be pitied. I heard that she allegedly needed medical help but has not been doing it. She should be treated with understanding,” the elder Tulfo said.
Asked for his reaction about Barretto’s supposed peace with Raffy, Tulfo said: “If I know my brother, I think he was just humoring her.”
“Baka he was just humoring her because alam niya na may sakit siya (Maybe he was just humoring her because he knows she’s sick),” Tulfo added.
The rift between Barretto and the Tulfos stemmed from first, the fistfight at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in May 2012 when the actress and her estranged husband, Raymart Santiago, got entangled in a brawl with Ramon Tulfo.
After the incident, Tulfo’s brothers – Raffy, Ben and Erin – berated Barretto and Santiago on their television show, prompting the couple to file separate charges against the three brothers.
The charges were junked in November 2013 as the complainants failed to show up in court.
The couple separated in 2013 following allegations of domestic abuse by Santiago against Barretto.
The actress has been embroiled in a family drama with sisters Gretchen and Marjorie, who both supported Santiago on their youngest sister’s charges of domestic violence.
They also alleged that Claudine was mentally ill and has a history of drug abuse, which prompted their mother Inday Barretto to post an open letter to Gretchen in which she called her daughter a “liar.”
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