#KrisAquinoVsNickoFalcis
Nanindigan si Nicko Falcis na ang reklamong qualified theft na isinampa ni Kris Aquino ay bahagi ng gawa-gawang "script" ng aktres upang sapilitang mapasunod ang dating business partner sa mga kagustuhan nito.
Taliwas ito sa pahayag ni Kris, 47, na hindi siya sinungaling, at kaya niyang patawarin si Nicko, 35, sa kabila ng pagkakamaling nagawa nito sa kanya.
Sinabi ito ni Kris sa isinagawang Instagram Live session, kasama ang mga abugado nito, sa bahay niya sa Quezon City, noong January 5, 2019.
Sa pagkakatong iyon, kinuwestiyon ng isa sa mga abugado niya ang umano'y "delaying tactics" ni Nicko at ang diumano'y pagtatago nito sa Thailand sa gitna ng kinakaharap na legal complaint mula pa noong October 12, 2018.
Sa panayam ng PEP.ph kay Nicko nitong January 7, kinontra nito ang pahayag ni Kris: "Lies! You say you're not a liar, but you fabricate the truth! You have a final script. And for me, that is really hurtful."
Hindi raw kailanman nagtago ang entrepreneur/brand-marketing expert sa Thailand.
Umpisa pa lang ay ipinaalam daw ni Nicko sa lahat na lilipad siya roon, sa gabi ng September 26, 2018, upang ayusin ang ilang negosyo nila ni Kris na gustong ilayo ni Nicko sa kanilang sigalot.
Ang impormasyong iyon ay alam din daw ni Kris.
Kinabukasan, September 27, naganap umano ang pagbabanta sa kanya ni Kris nang magkausap sila via long-distance phone call.
Dito ay nagsisigaw raw si Kris kay Nicko: "Dare to set foot in this country and you will be dead."
Nagpadala pa raw si Kris ng screenshot ng listahan ng mga labas-masok ni Nicko sa bansa, bilang babala na kaya niyang alamin ang anumang travel itinerary ng entrepreneur/brand-marketing expert.
Ang naunang screenshot ay galing daw sa isang "powerful friend" ni Kris.
At dito na raw napagtanto ni Nicko na dapat niyang seryosohin ang pagbabanta umano ni Kris.
"I wanted to go home, excuse her. I wanted to fix this. I wanted to have a good discussion with her, along with with my family, with our lawyers.
"But she kept on insisting on how she wants to play it out.
"And, again, when I say Kris is the master of fabricating the truth, [I mean] in the end she always has a final script in her mind that everybody needs to follow, that everybody needs to be a part of.
"Unfortunately, we refused. My whole family refused because it's very onerous, it's very demanding."
Eksklusibong nakapanayam ng PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal) si Nicko sa Taguig City, noong January 7.
Kasama ni Nicko ang nakakatandang kapatid na babae na si Charlene.
Magkakilala raw sina Charlene at Kris dahil si Charlene ang nangangasiwa sa pag-aaring commercial space ng pamilya Falcis sa Quezon City, at minsang ginusto ni Kris kumuha rito ng opisina para sa KCAP.
THE "GUILT TRIP"
Ayon kay Charlene, dalawang linggo bago inilabas ni Kris sa social media ang litrato ng biglaan nitong pagpayat ay ipinadala na ito sa kanya ng actress/TV host/web star.
Ginamit daw ito ni Kris na pang "guilt trip" kay Charlene.
"'Your brother hurt me so much. He abandoned me. Ate, what do you think will the advertisers say if they see my current state? And it's your brother who caused this!'" text raw ni Kris kay Charlene.
"Then she showed me pictures. Nilabas din naman niya—the haggard face, the mga pasa in the legs."
Ang tinutukoy ni Charlene ay ang Instagram post ni Kris, petsang September 25, 2018, kung kailan sinabi ni Kris sa followers nitong dumulog na siya sa kanyang mga abugado upang labanan ang taong nanloko sa kanya.
Ito ay dalawang araw mula ng unang Instagram post ni Kris hinggil sa taong namamahala sa kanyang endorsements, na sumira raw sa kanyang tiwala at umabuso sa kanya ng pinansiyal.
Dugtong ni Nicko sa sinabi ni Charlene: "Remember, she already has a script in her mind. She told that to us.
"Everything was premeditated. Even the filing of all these cases are all premeditated. And it was actually captured in all the messages.
"Thank God for complete screenshots. Thank God for back-up Google Cloud. I thank God it's 2019, and this is the only way I can survive this."
PUBLIC APOLOGY FROM FALCIS FAMILY
Una nang naiulat ng PEP.ph—base sa salaysay ni Nicko sa kanyang Counter-Affidavit—na si Kris ang nagdesisyong tuluyan nang putulin ang business association nila.
Sinabi rito na noong September 18, 2018, nangyari ang isang insidente sa bahay ni Kris, kung saan sapilitang pinapapayag si Nicko sa "media plan" at "unreasonable demands" ng web star.
Ang media plan, ayon sa Counter-Affidavit, ay tungkol sa kuwentong gagamitin para sa publiko tungkol sa paghihiwalay ng landas ng dalawa.
Sa panayam ng PEP.ph kay Nicko nitong January 7, sinabi ng Certified Public Accountant na ang isang kondisyon ni Kris na hindi niya talaga matanggap ay ang pagpa-isyu nito kay Nicko ng "public apology."
Ipinipilit din umano ni Kris na dapat kasama ni Nicko ang ina at kapatid na babae.
"I got a lot of those messages that were sent to my family.
"And she just kept on pounding and demanding from us that she wanted a public apology. 'Let's have a meeting. I'll bring my family...your family.'
"In the end, she wanted a script of a shamed mother, a shamed sister, saying sorry in behalf of the brother who committed the sins."
Ano ang mga kasalanan niyang dapat niyang ihingi ng kapatawaran?
Sagot ni Nicko, "What sins? There is no theft! I will clarify, and say it again, that those baseless cases are false and do not have any merit.
"I did not steal from her. I did not do any financial abuse. And there were no resources that were misappropriated."
"FABRICATED NARRATIVE" ON KRIS LIFE UPDATE
Sa isang punto ng interbyu, kinuwestiyon ni Nicko ang kasinungalingan umano ni Kris sa webisode ng "Kris Life Update" noong October 2018.
Baling ni Nicko, "We are not the ones parading every time, creating Life Update parts one, two, and three.
"She even sent us Part Three without [yet] uploading that on air, saying that 'Eto yung lalabas. Your mother needs to apologize to me.'
"Because she already published it! Remember she is the type who already has a final script in her head. And she did that, 'Show this to Nicko.'"
Nagpadala raw si Kris ng mensahe kay Charlene upang tingnan ang link ng Part 3 ng "Kris Life Update."
Malinaw raw na sinabi ni Kris sa panayam na iyon: "They tried to apologize. The mom was so sorry."
Tinignan ng PEP.ph ang Part 3 ng "Kris Life Update," at may bahagi roon na may close-up shot si Kris na nagsasabing, "This I can reveal..."
Sabay cut to full shot ni Kris na nagsasabing, "Dinaan nila through Alvin. The mother reached out to me. And because I'm a mom, iba ang dating sa akin kapag mom ang kausap. I felt the sincerity. And because of that..."
Sabay cut to medium shot ni Kris, "... that's what's making me pray na I will reach that point."
Ang tinutukoy na Alvin ay si Alvin Gagui, chief of staff ni Kris.
Unang binanggit ni Kris sa video na ipinagdarasal niyang sana'y mapatawad niya ang hindi pinangalanang taong may kasalanan sa kanya.
Pawang kasinungalingan, bwelta ni Nicko. Hindi raw kailanman humingi ng paumanhin sa aktres ang kanyang ina na isang duktor at practicing oncologist.
"The script was, she wants my mom and my sister to personally apologize for all the sins and for all the hurt I brought her. But the truth is, we never agreed to it," ayon sa isa sa tatlong magkakapatid na Falcis, na ulila na sa ama.
Bukod kay Charlene, isa pang kapatid nila ay si Atty. Jesus Falcis, na kinasuhan naman ni Kris ng cyberlibel.
Ipinaliwanag ni Nicko kung bakit hindi basta-basta pumayag ang kanyang kampo sa "unreasonable demands" ng kampo ni Kris, sa mga pagkakataong nagkakaharap ang kani-kanilang abugado.
"For us, we just want to discuss amicably. We want to know how we can fix it—but there is no public apology!
"She has an army of lawyers, an army of accountants. And when I was abroad, all I had was my sister and our family lawyer," at dito ay nangilid na ang luha sa mata ni Nicko.
"And that's intimidation. 'You cannot say anything. You cannot do this. You have to sign this.' They brought out a lot of onerous deals, contracts, et cetera, which is totally unfair.
"She thought the final script in her head will fully play out.
"Unfortunately for her, we are all professionals. We know things. We understand things. And again, I refuse to be part of that narrative."
"A BULLY WHO DISGUISES HERSELF AS A CRYING VICTIM"
Nabanggit ni Nicko na bunsod ng alitan nila ni Kris ay napilitan siyang umalis sa kanyang executive position sa food business kung saan magkasosyo sila ni Kris.
"I think this is because she just wanted me to not have any pillars to lean on or a wall that I can depend on," pagsusuri ni Nicko.
"She knows all the roles, all the responsibilities—from my educational institution where I teach to our food businesses.
"And she really exerted undue pressure to have me removed from my roles.
"But, of course, who would not heed the call of a crying girl? Who, in the end, is a bully who disguises herself as a crying victim."
Sa huli, hindi na napigilang umiyak ni Nicko dahil sa umano'y sinapit na pananakot, panggigipit, at pagbabanta mula kay Kris.
Sinabi nito, "She kept on sending us a lot of hate messages, intimidation messages, coercive messages. It was just too much."
"She never denied," pahagulgol na sabi ni Nicko tungkol sa pagbabanta ni Kris sa kanyang buhay.
Pagtatapos ni Nicko: "I just want her out of our lives."
ATTY. PONFERRADA REBUTS ATTY. FORTUN
Ngayong Miyerkules, January 9, nagpadala sa media ang abugado ni Nicko, si Atty. Regidor Ponferrada, ng official statement hinggil sa mga pahayag ni Kris sa Instagram Live broadcast nito noong January 5.
Kasama ni Kris sa Instagram Live broadcast ang legal team na nagri-representa sa kanya, sa pangunguna ni Atty. Sigrid Fortun.
Sa broadcast na iyon, sinabi ni Atty. Fortun na bahagi lamang ng "delaying tactics" ng kampo ni Nicko ang rebelasyon nitong pagbabanta at panggigipit ni Kris.
Kung hindi raw ay bakit lumantad lamang daw si Nicko mahigit dalawang buwan mula nang ihain ng kampo ni Kris ang reklamong 44 counts of qualified theft laban sa binata.
Mariin namang pinabulaanan ng abugado ni Nicko ang akusasyong ibinato sa kliyente nito.
Sinabi ni Atty. Ponferrada na, hanggang October 2018, ay nagpa-file pa ang kampo ni Kris ng reklamo sa iba't-ibang siyudad, hanggang sa umabot sa pitong siyudad ang pinaghainan nito.
Nag-file din ang kampo ni Kris ng hiwalay na civil complaint na humihingi ng danyos.
Nang maaari na silang sumagot, nag-file ang kampo ni Nicko ng motion to dismiss dahil nilabag umano ng kampo ni Kris ang rule sa "forum shopping."
Ito ay ang pagbabawal sa pagbabakasali ng isang kampo na may siyudad na mas maluwag na tatanggap ng kanyang complaint, kaya't kung saan-saang siyudad ito inihahain.
Marami pang bagay ang inungkat ng kampo ni Nicko sa Omnibus Motion to Dismiss, at kinailangan daw nilang maghihintay ng desisyon bago maihain ang pormal na Counter-Affidavit ni Nicko.
Ito raw ang dahilan kung bakit ganoon ang mga petsa nang pag-file ng Counter-Affidavit ni Nicko.
Narito ang kabuuang pahayag ni Atty. Ponferrada (published as is):
"This is to categorically deny the statements made in a Facebook live broadcast that our client, NICARDO M. FALCIS II, and our law firm are engaged in 'delaying tactics' and that we 'maliciously timed' the filing of our client’s Counter-Affidavit.
"While Ms. Kristina Bernadette C. Aquino indeed filed her Complaint-Affidavit dated 12 October 2018 against our client for allegedly committing unauthorized credit card transactions in the total amount of Php1,270,980.31, as early as October 2018, she filed virtual replicas of the same in seven government offices, to wit:
"1. Office of the City Prosecutor of Quezon City;
"2. Office of the City Prosecutor of Taguig City;
"3. Office of the City Prosecutor of the City of Manila;
"4. Office of the City Prosecutor of Pasig City;
"5. Office of the City Prosecutor of Mandaluyong City;
"6. Office of the City Prosecutor of Makati City; and
"7. Office of the City Prosecutor of San Juan City.
"Aside from the criminal cases filed above, Ms. Kristina Bernadette C. Aquino also filed a civil complaint which also included the claim for damages against our client for the same acts of allegedly committing unauthorized credit card transactions in the total amount of Php1,270,980.31, before the Regional Trial Court of Quezon City.
"To protect the rights of our client, we filed an Omnibus Motion to dismiss the cases for forum-shopping, for consolidation of the cases before the Department of Justice, or for suspension of the criminal cases in light of an existing prejudicial question in the related civil case before the Regional Trial Court of Quezon City.
"Thus, we did not immediately file Nicardo M. Falcis II’s Counter-Affidavit, as the same might render our Omnibus Motion moot.
"Our client, NICARDO M. FALCIS II, is innocent of the charges against him; and, contrary to their claims, we have been facing the charges by presenting our defenses and submitting our evidence in support of the same before the proper fora."
Nananatiling bukas ang PEP.ph sa anumang pahayag ng mga nabanggit na personalidad sa artikulong ito.