Gatchalian no comment on issues surrounding girlfriend Bianca Manalo

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian has refused to give his comment on the issue surrounding his girlfriend, actress and former beauty queen Bianca Manalo, who is embroiled in a controversy involving her “Magandang Dilag” co-star, Rob Gomez.

Manalo, Gomez, and another beauty queen, Herlene Budol are the talk of the town after screenshots of the actor’s messages with them were leaked on his social media pages. The messages implied a sexual relationship.

Gatchalian, at the tail end of a press briefing about the 2024 national budget and the West Philippine Sea, was asked if he would like to say anything about Manalo’s supposed intimate exchange with Gomez, who is a distant relative of his fellow senators, Jinggoy Estrada and JV Ejercito.

“No comment,” Gatchalian said.

Manalo, who flew to Japan with her family on Thursday, broke her silence the next day, Friday, to belie the allegations, saying some parts of her conversations with Gomez were deleted to “create malicious insinuations.”

In one of the messages leaked, Manalo was seen asking Gomez if he can meet him “before I leave at 10 a.m.,” adding that a certain ‘he’ is in Valenzuela.

Gatchalian hails from Valenzuela City, which he used to be a mayor of.

“It is upsetting that our conversations were exposed without my consent, which is a breach of privacy and the cause of so much online bashing,” Manalo said on Instagram.

“It is obvious that parts of our conversation were deleted to create malicious insinuations […] He was going to bring Christmas gifts and I wanted to receive them early before I leave for the airport,” she added.

Though he declined to comment on the matter, Gatchalian appeared to stand by Manalo as he reposted an INQUIRER.net tweet about her clarification.

Budol has also denied involvement with Gomez, as well as alleged intimate relations with him. Meanwhile, the actor initially claimed he has no access to his phone, but the next day uploaded a topless photo of himself.