"It's completely untrue," says Riza Santos about rumors
saying that she almost filed a case of oral defamation against fellow Pinoy
Big Brother celebrity housemate Mariel Rodriguez. "My parents would not
sue. I would not sue Ate Mariel."
The beauty title holder told PEP (Philippine Entertainment Portal) that she still considers Mariel as a friend.
Riza narrated the events that happened that Friday night, December 28, during the stag party of Ruben Gonzaga who was about to get married the next day.
"I went inside the house to change my shirt kasi mainit sa labas." Whila Riza was inside the PBB house, Mariel was left outside talking with Ethel Booba. The Ultimate Pasaway admitted that she was smitten by Will Deveughn, who is being linked to Riza. In response to Ethel's affection towards Will, Mariel cursed Riza, saying, "Pu--ng inang virgin na ‘to [Riza]. Pu__ng ina talaga! Pu_i siya. Ki_i ng ina niya!"
Riza revealed: "Totoo lang, hindi ko pinanood yung video kasi alam ko na kung anong sinabi niya. At that point, I felt I didn't need to see it. I looked it up at You Tube and I saw everything. I saw the comments. I read what she said.
"There is no point in dwelling over it and thinking about it kasi she approached me naman and I accepted [her apology]. We've moved on from there.
"She said, ‘Sorry, alam mo naman we're friends.' Alam ko naman kaibigan kami so for me, it's not an issue," said Riza sincerely.
What can she say about the fact that Mariel made a face when she read the slip of paper indicating that Riza was the Second Big Placer of Pinoy Big Brother Celebrity Edition 2.
"Hindi naman nag-iba yung tingin ko kay Ate Mariel. You can interpret it in different ways, pero I haven't really talked to her about that particular issue. But I haven't changed my opinion about Ate Mariel. I'd still treat her the same way and I still consider her as my friend. I'm not going to treat her differently."
Don't you think Mariel should be held accountable for her actions? "Sa tingin ko, she's old enough to know the things she should say, how she should act. She's at that age when she knows the difference between right and wrong. She's at an age when she can make a sound judgment of anong dapat niyang gawin," said Riza.
The 2006 Ms. Earth-Canada title holder also pointed out that
she has signed a five-year, nine-picture contract with Viva Films. In the
upcoming Robin Padilla-Ai-Ai delas Alas movie, Riza will have a role as a
balikbayan.