"Hindi ako magko-comment," Annabelle Rama-Gutierrez said when PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal) rang her up last May 31 to get her reaction to the upcoming hearing on the cases filed against her sons Rocky and Richard Gutierrez.
Richard, a prize Kapuso star, and his brother Eduardo Jr., a.k.a. Rocky, were charged, along with "several John Does," with "Serious Physical Injuries" for allegedly beating Arnel Cruz and Ram de Vera six years ago, on January 30, 2005.
In addition, the Gutierrez brothers were accused of damaging the Mitsubishi Pajero of Arnel, who filed a "Malicious Mischief" case against Richard and Rocky.
Annabelle Rama, who also manages the careers of Richard and Rocky, explained to PEP, "Ongoing na 'yang case. Sinabihan ako ni Judge na huwag magsalita. Twice niya yun sinabi."
She added, "Pag may lumabas, ako pagbibintangan ng Judge. Kasi may reporter nuon na nakita sa hearing, akala ng Judge ako ang nagpapunta. Sabi ko, hindi ako. Baka matalo pa si Richard kung magsasalita ako."
However, in a phone call to Arnel and Rammel's lawyer—Atty. Javier Flores of the law firm Catindig Flores and Palarca—the latter said: "I don't remember any gag order issued by the court."
"NO COMMENT" FROM RICHARD AND ROCKY'S LAWYERS. At press time, PEP had also sent a letter to Atty. Gener Asuncion, a partner at the BGE-PAL (Belo, Gozon, Elma—Parel, Asuncion & Lucila) Law Office, legal counsel for Richard and Rocky.
Our letter asked Atty. Asuncion for his reaction to the June 9 hearing. We sent a copy of the same letter to Atty. CJ de Claro, also of the BGE-PAL Law Office.
Atty. Asuncion's secretary, Chin-chin Valencia, told PEP in a phone conversation that her boss was out of town, but that our email had already reached his email inbox.
PEP followed this up with a text message to another BGE-PAL lawyer, Atty. Maria Lourdes Panganiban, who represented Richard and Rocky in the arraignment held last November 2010.
In the end, it was Atty. CJ de Claro who responded, by email, with this brief statement: "Considering that the case is on-going, we cannot issue any statement regarding the same."
PEP is ready to publish any further statements from Richard Gutierrez and Eduardo "Rocky" Gutierrez Jr., their family, or their lawyers.
