Multi-award-winning actor John Arcilla and Senate President Chiz Escudero have weighed in on the controversy surrounding Maris Racal, Anthony Jennings, and Jam Villanueva.
Photo: John Arcilla and Chiz Escudero/Instagram
In a Facebook post shared on December 5, the actor clarified that he is not judging anyone and hasn’t read all the alleged screenshots related to the ongoing controversy.
“Ayoko manghusga. Hindi ko nabasa lahat. Nagsisimula pa lang ako nakaramdam na ako ng hiya sa sarili ko. Bat ba ako magbabasa ng isang private na convo (I don’t want to judge. I haven’t read everything. I’m just starting to read [the screenshots] and I already feel ashamed of myself. Why would I even read a private conversation?)?” he wrote, adding that he felt awkward reading the private conversations.
He then reflected on the ongoing situation with a question: “Ito lang ang hindi ko maintindihan: bakit hindi binura? May mali eh. Anong pakay? Parang may plano, parang may hindi magandang balak (This is the only thing I don’t understand: why wasn’t it deleted? There’s something wrong. What’s the purpose? It feels like there’s a plan, like there’s an ill intent).”
The Heneral Luna actor expressed more of his insights regarding the “ill intent” behind the messages: “Lahat naman tayo dumaan sa pagkabinata pero hindi ko makuha na habang may tino-torture kang gf dahil binigyan mo naman ng access sa cp mo, sa isang banda may ine-expose ka or may balak ka naman i-blackmail na isa pang babae. Parang nasa gitna ng pag expose at kunwaring pag gaslight mayroong laro eh (We’ve all gone through being young, but I can’t wrap my head around the idea that while you’re tormenting your girlfriend since you gave her access to your phone, on the other hand, you’re exposing or maybe planning to blackmail another woman. It’s like you’re caught between exposing and pretending to gaslight. There’s some kind of game going on here).”
“Sana mali ako. Pero kung tama ako. May kabastusan yung motibo. Ibang klaseng mag-trip. May hindi rin sina-alang-alang yung 3rd party, bad trip din yon – pero tingin ko lang may isang kolokoy na nag take advantage ng lahat (I hope I’m wrong. But if I’m right, the motive is disrespectful. It’s a different kind of twisted fun. The third party wasn’t considered either, and that’s messed up too—but I feel like there’s one troublemaker who took advantage of everything) with confidence and a disguise of being cool,” the actor concluded his post.
The veteran actor posted another Facebook status after Maris addressed the controversy surrounding her and her Can’t Buy Me Love co-star.
“Ok na ba ang lahat? Lumilinaw na? They did what they did at that time because that is what they thought are the best things to do nung tumatawid sila sa pagkakataong iyon at ito nga ang naging resulta (Is everything okay now? Is it becoming clearer? They did what they did at that time because that is what they thought was the best thing to do while they were navigating that moment, and this is the result),” he said, telling social media users to move forward and give people a second chance to learn and rebuild themselves.
Meanwhile, Senate President Chiz Escudero was asked whether the act of posting screenshots of private conversations without consent constitutes a violation of privacy laws, a question that alludes to the ongoing controversy.
“As a lawyer, I think so. But again, it’s an allegation that needs to be proven in court,” the senate president said.
“Kung papasukin niyo talaga ‘to, paglabag siya pero pwedeng gamiting bilang ebidensiya kasi may prinsipyo sa korteng ‘fruit of the poison tree’ — na kapag sa iligal mo nakuha, hindi mo pwedeng gawing ebidensya (If you really go through with this, it’s a violation, but it could be used as evidence because of the principle in court called ‘fruit of the poisonous tree’—which means that if something is obtained illegally, it cannot be used as evidence),” he continued, adding that the Court made an exception to this principle.
According to the Senate president, evidence that is obtained illegally can be used in a criminal case, but not in a civil case to prove the innocence or guilt of the accused.
On December 3, Jam Villanueva broke her silence about her split with Anthony Jennings, uploading a series of screenshots of private conversations between her ex-boyfriend and Maris Racal on her Instagram stories.
“I’m grateful that Anthony finally chose to speak the truth because I had been carrying the weight of it all on my own for so long. It’s painful to be attacked by others when all I ever wanted was to protect my personal life—and to protect him out of respect,” she wrote.
“When Maris came into the picture, I was genuinely happy for you both. I even chose to be supportive, despite the red flags I couldn’t ignore. I respected your craft. I believed in you both. But betrayal like this cuts deep,” she added.
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