Iwi Laurel wages ‘silent war’

Nicole Asensio

Amid rumors that her husband was recently killed as a result of President Duterte’s ongoing war on drugs, actress-singer Iwi Laurel has urged Filipinos to “participate in a silent war” against those who spread lies and politicize her family’s loss.

One such personality is singer-comedienne Cynthia Patag, who was accused of igniting the issue online.

“I choose to ignore her completely. In fact, silence is the best reaction,” Iwi told Inquirer Entertainment editor Rito P. Asilo—with whom she worked in theater in the past—via SMS.

In a viral Facebook status that has already been deleted, Cynthia shared with her followers, a message by a certain Ana Segovia, alleging that musician Manuel “Noli” Asensio III, was “recovering from drug addiction,” and had been “abducted and drugged” before his death.

Cynthia, a vocal critic of the current administration, got hold of the said message—that was apparently not meant to be made public—after Lydia Paredes, the wife of former Apo Hiking Society member Jim Paredes, sent it to some friends, in hopes of verifying its contents.

Later on, Cynthia edited her post titled, “He Wasn’t Poor,” to clarify that Noli, complaining of chest pain, was rushed to a hospital (Makati Medical Center, where he reportedly died due to septic shock and cardiac arrest). Cynthia, however, added that Noli “did push [drugs], [was] busted, and was jailed a few years ago.”

Cynthia has already issued a public apology on Facebook.

Iwi Laurel Actress-singer

On the same social networking site, Iwi asked netizens not to use her husband’s passing for “your political motives and schemes.”

“If you have compassion, you will understand that we are grieving for someone [whom] we loved very much, who was a good person,” she wrote. “I suggest you pray…And when you feel the urge to post anything again, maybe ask yourself if your words are true, necessary and helpful.”

Nicole Asensio, Noli and Iwi’s daughter, echoed her mother’s sentiments, but also called for sobriety.

Nicole, a recording artist and former lead vocalist of the band General Luna, said on Facebook: “Please don’t further the conflict by insulting, wishing harm on anyone…Yes, it’s true, I’m deeply hurt by the disrespect my family endured, and I reacted because the gossip isn’t true.”

Nicole added that she doesn’t wish any harm on Cynthia, as well as on Jim and his wife, who are also being implicated in the issue.

Meanwhile, Jim reiterated that the inaccurate message “did not originate from them” and that he and his wife had no intention of politicizing Noli’s death.

“My wife forwarded the message privately to some friends who may know (Noli’s) brothers, to confirm if what it said was true or not,” Jim told the Inquirer in a phone interview, adding that the original message “was already politicized.”

“After getting that message, I immediately got in touch with Nicole to say how sorry I was, that it was upsetting the way he died. And she said, no, he didn’t die that way…That was how I knew that something was different here,” Jim related. “I apologized, and she said thank you. I don’t need to print the whole exchange.”

“Such is the political situation now, where people think the worst of each other that they don’t bother looking at the facts anymore,” Jim said of the bashing he has been getting online. “So, they think that I spread the rumor. Show me the post, where I [wrote about] it. You will not find any.”