Ricardo Cepeda and Marina Benipayo. Image: Instagram/@marina_benipayo
Marina Benipayo spoke up on the syndicated estafa charges against her partner Ricardo Cepeda, stressing that the actor was never involved in the company’s discussion about investments and that he only agreed to be its brand ambassador to help a friend.
“Ricardo was never present in any of those talks about investing. Hindi nga kami nag-invest do’n. Hindi kami nag-iinvest kasi wala kaming pag-invest,” she said in a video on her TikTok page on Monday, Oct. 9, opting not to provide further details on the company involved. (We did not invest in the company because we do not have the money to make an investment.)
“Tsaka hindi po siya signatory; wala po siyang pinirmahan na kahit anong papel do’n sa kompanya. Ito ngang pagka-brand ambassador niya, verbal nga ‘yan kasi gusto niya ngang tulungan ‘yung tao in the first place,” she continued.
(He is also not a signatory; He didn’t sign any company papers. They only had a verbal agreement about his being a brand ambassador because he just wanted to help the person [from the company] in the first place.)
Benipayo lamented how there are individuals who have been chiming in on the matter and throwing criticisms when they do not know Cepeda and his family personally.
“Gusto ko lang po sana i-call to attention ‘yung mga gumagawa ng content, kasi may nakita po akong content na ‘yung nangyari kay Ricardo ang subject…,” she said. “Sana po before kayo magcomment, kung hindi niyo kilala ‘yung tao, ‘wag na lang kayo magsulat.”
(I want to call the attention of those making contents about Ricardo. I hope that before you comment—if you do not personally know the person, just refrain from [talking about the issue].)
“Magpo-post kayo tapos hahayaan niyo lang pag-pyestahan ng mga tao. ‘Di yata tama ‘yon e,” she continued. “Kasi, what if it happened to you? My friends, I would never ever wish that anything like that would happen sa inyo kahit ‘di ko kayo kilala dahil napakasakit.”
(You would post something about the issue then let netizens use it to throw hate. That isn’t fair. Because what if it happened to you? My friends, I would never ever wish that anything like that would happen to any of you because it is painful.)
@marina_benipayo No hate, please. Just prayers. #NoHate #life ♬ original sound – Marina Benipayo
The actress then turned emotional as she appealed to the public to extend prayers instead of judgment to Cepeda and their family. Benipayo further asked netizens to avoid disseminating assumptions through their platforms, and noted how those who are close to their family can attest to Cepeda’s kindness.
“Kami po nagsusumikap lang kami while, at the same time, trying to help as much people as we can, dahil alam po namin kung anong pakiramdam ng paghihirap,” she stressed, adding that their family does not have a lavish lifestyle.
(We are just working hard while, at the same time, trying to help as much people as we can because we know how it feels to be in want.)
“All we need now are prayers. Nothing less,” she stated. “Wala kaming tinatago. Lahat ng linalabas namin [ay] kung ano kami talaga. ‘Yung iba akala nila napakayaman namin kaya nangyayari daw sa amin ito—we don’t even have anything in our name.”
(We are not hiding anything. Everything we share [on social media] is real. Other people think that this happened to us because we are rich, when we don’t even have anything in our name.)
At the latter part of her video, Benipayo reiterated the statement of their family on the matter, which was earlier shared by her son, model-athlete Joshua de Sequera, and Cepeda’s brother Robert Go.
Aside from fans, fellow celebrities Gardo Versoza and Gabbi Garcia were among those who expressed support for Benipayo and Cepeda via the comments section.
Image: TikTok/@marina_benipayo
Image: TikTok/@marina_benipayo
Image: TikTok/@marina_benipayo
Cepeda, whose real name is Richard Cepeda Go, was arrested and jailed by Quezon City Police on Sunday, Oct. 8, on charges of syndicated estafa—a non-bailable offense.
Cepeda’s arrest stemmed from a warrant issued by Executive Judge Gemma Bucayu-Madrid of Sanchez Mira, Cagayan Regional Trial Court. Aside from the actor, several others who were supposedly complicit to the crime were also subjects of a manhunt. /ra