Yes, a parent is supposed to mediate between feuding siblings.
But a parent’s first duty is to protect her child both emotionally and physically.
Inday Barretto stressed, “It’s also my duty to protect my child. It is also my duty to tell them if they are wrong.
“It doesn’t win me popularity [contests], di ba?”
She was referring to the negative comments sparked off by her decision to defend Claudine and put down Gretchen.
In the last part of Mrs. Barretto’s exclusive interview with PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal), the 76-year-old mother explained, “Alam mo kasi, at last, once and for all, I took a stand…
“Kasi my husband [Miguel] was saying na, ‘Teka muna, this is a family squabble.’”
But this time, she said, Gretchen and Marjorie have joined forces.
Inday continued, “Two against one—[against] Claudine. Unang-una, matalino silang dalawa, e, they’re very aware sa mga ganyang intrigues and all.
“Si Claudine is, una, she’s young, e… wala siyang strategy.”
She may be talking about the posts of Gretchen and Marjorie on their Instagram accounts—@gretchenbarretto and @marjbarretto, respectively.
Marjorie posted, “…her demons are coming out again…”
Gretchen, on the other hand, announced, “… she is all alone because of her evil ways…. Your husband walked out coz of your violent ways… oh, please reflect and go to your happy place, Medical City.”
The posts were deleted right away.
The two sisters made no mention of Claudine, but the public surmised they were referring to her.
Inday pointed out, “Wala, you say what you want to say, this and that, which is mali, di ba?
“E, para ka lang suntok nang suntok—stop it na, stop it!
“Kasi my husband said, ‘Teka muna,’ then everyone tells me, my friends, na parang pumasok ka na because once a mother talks, that’s the truth.
“Kasi hindi naman magkakampi-kampi—it’s the truth, hindi ‘yong kakampi ako kay Claudine, no! Because you know, when she’s wrong, we say she’s wrong.”
JAY-JAY’S LETTER. But her statement, which was published on April 24, 2013, had one of her sons, Jay-Jay, issuing a statement against Inday on April 25, and one of her daughters, Gia, coming to Inday’s defense on April 26.
In short, it led to family members taking sides. Kampihan, in other words.
How did she feel about Jay-Jay talking to media?
“Oo, imagine. But then he’s close… well, he said it already that he’s close [to] Gretchen.
“But it’s shocking that he even, you know, [took sides] because to begin with, that [Jay-Jay’s response] was not prepared by him.
“Clearly, he never talks that way, he never composes words that way, it’s ano… but he signed it.
“Well, you know, you proceed… you proceed at your own risk.
“Imagine, he lived here with me. Jay-Jay lived with me technically all his life.”
Inday sounded certain when she said, “That is so Gretchen’s way na I will hit you [through Jay-Jay], because she thinks it will hurt me the most.
“But it hurt my son, it hurt Jay-Jay more, not me.”
We asked: “Umuwi po ba si Jay-Jay after releasing his statement?”
Inday quickly replied, “Hindi na siya puwede makauwi dito, of course!
“Itong away-away started as [a] spark na ginatungan nang ginatungan until it became a big fire.
“Ang daming collateral damage diyan,” and one of them—she pointed out—was her son.
Why would Jay-Jay do such a thing?
“It’s Gretchen who is manipulating people. He [Jay-Jay] is the collateral damage.
“They [Gretchen’s camp] made Jay-Jay come out [with] that statement, which was not at all written by him. It was the lawyers’ office, dictated by Gretchen, and he signed it.
“He had no choice, ‘yon lang ang nadinig namin, he had no choice. I don’t know what that’s all about, wala akong pakialam.”
Why would Gretchen manipulate people?
Inday answered, “Oo, tama ang question mo, na people would think why naman, my goodness, e, ginawa ng family sa kanya ‘yon and all that.
“…pito sila, sila ang nag-aaway.
“Look at Marjorie now, kasi galit siya… but if you notice, we don’t mention Marjorie at all, she’s okay, di ba?
“Now si Jay-Jay, well, self-serving ‘yan. I don’t want to go [into] that. Bahala na sila, bahala na ang Diyos diyan. But the fact that he sided with her, well, sila naman ang witness diyan.”
Then, she admitted, “But naiinis ako. Galit ako kay Joaquin for having signed that [letter], that he took her side.
“Ginawa siyang attack dog!
“Siyempre, galit kaming lahat sa kanya [Jay-Jay].
“But the positive side there is I’m thankful for it. Kasi everything na negative, sinasabi ko, may positive.”
GIA’S LETTER. The response from her U.S.-based daughter, Gia Barretto-Reyes, was meant to “correct” all the unjust rumors about her family.
Inday said, “Hindi kami rich pero hindi kami poor, ha. They’re never deprived.
“At saka ‘yong sabi-sabi lang na they were never chauffeur-driven. Hindi kami nagta-taxi, we have a car, a brand new car.
“Of course, wala kaming Mercedes Benz and mga bling-bling…
“I also find it distasteful, kinikilabutan ako.
“Parang, if I tell you we have a lot in Alabang, parang ano, nagyayabang na naman ako?
“We do not equate material possession with who we are and what we are. She [Gretchen] is the one who has that thinking and all that.”
CLAUDINE’S CONDITION. The topic shifted to Claudine. How is she?
Inday replied, “She is more peaceful now. Okay… But for a while, medyo nag-slow down. Kasi burnout, e, burnout kasi…”
Inday recounted the problems her youngest daughter has had to deal with.
“From the Rico Yan thing naman, she was crucified and everything, di ba? And hindi siya na-ano sa trauma no’n.
“And then ‘yong trabaho, ‘yong kind of work pa natin na puyat.
“Then when she has a baby, she had birth blues [postnatal depression]… She had that, e. I had that also no’ng I gave birth kay Gretchen, bigla lang hirap ako.
“Anyway, to cut it short, nagka-ano siya, nagka-depression. Pagkatapos noon, parang she couldn’t work well na, burnout siya.”
But she assured fans that this is just phase in Claudine’s life.
“The fans, I would like to assure, hindi naman siya nag-quit ng showbiz.
“In fairness, ang tagal na rin naman niyang nagtrabaho. It’s time naman na mag-rest muna siya.
“Kasi sometimes, when you get out of the ano [circulation], marami na ring [pumapasok]. Alam mo, gano’n naman ‘yan, e. Circle ‘yan, e, di ba? May bagong dumadating, may ibang mawawala.
“Itong si Janice de Belen, what a comeback! Look at Sunshine Cruz, she thought she could ano… gano’n lang.”
And given Claudine’s 20 years of nonstop projects in showbiz, Inday said, “Nakaipon naman siya… Puwede naman siya mag-retire, kaya lang nasa dugo na niya, she wants to work.
“Nag-a-ano lang ‘yan, nagta-timeout lang kami. And kayang kaya naman ‘yan, maka-Diyos ‘yan, e.”
Back to the main issue, we asked: “Sa tingin po ninyo, may magsasalita pa po ba?”
Inday said that if she could have her way, she’d tell the press, “Itong public na ito, tama na! Umuwi na kayo!
“But they opened it by attacking me again—sabihin na food for the table—that gave me the venue to speak out.”
Hopefully, this interview would be the “last salvo,” as she called it.