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Whom the gods want to destroy, they first make crazy.
This could be the underlying
theme of two reality shows, pitting members of prominent families
against each other—complete with intrigues, suspense, pathos,
falling in love, and failing out of love—with an international
backdrop, that have regaled Filipino audiences for a while.
There have been so many dramatic
twists in the plot—some bizarre, some incredulous—that made
every episode intriguing. And yes, funny!
Lets zoom in on the first reality
show: Bektas vs. Bektas. First it was first reported as just a
simple family problem. Because of the distance and culture shock
(Turkish millionaire Yilmaz Bektas, the husband, is a Muslim and
lives in Istanbul while the wife, TV host Ruffa Gutierrez, is a
Christian and lives in Manila), the two have decided to go on trial
separation.
On several TV interviews, Ruffa,
for a while, refused to tell why she was seeking a divorce. Was she
a battered wife? Did Yilmaz hurt her? Were there irreconcilable
differences? Yilmaz called her a “good actress.” She simply
closed her eyes to keep the tears from falling. Then softly, she
mumbled that she loves her husband very much.
But since then, there were
several twists. Granting TV interviews from his mansion in Istanbul
(ABS-CBN sent its Europe Bureau chief, Danny Buenafe, to Istanbul),
Bektas charged that it was his mother-in-law, Annabelle Rama, who
had wanted him and Ruffa to split. In another interview, this time
with GMA 7, Bektas said there was really no need for divorce,
because Ruffa was married to a certain Richard Daloia in Las Vegas
in 1999 and that their subsequent grand wedding in Manila in 2003
was null and void from the beginning.
After that, Ruffa dropped a
bombshell. She admitted that Bektas abused and tortured her, beating
and kicking her at worst for 15 hours. “He would do everything to
me. He cut my hair. He kicked me. He locked me up in a cabinet,”
Ruffa narrated.
Asked why her husband would do
that to her, she replied: “Wala. Sira ulo lang siya. [Nothing. He
is just crazy].”
Now the Ruffa-Yilmaz drama has
subsided a little but new complications could develop as the threat
of Yilmaz to harm her and kidnap their two daughters remains. In
another ABS-CBTV interview, Yilmaz, in broken English, has warned
Ruffa not to use their two children in her TV appearances, adding
that something could happen to her if she insists on doing it. Ruffa,
who has resumed her TV and movie career, is now being provided with
police escorts.
Now lets zoom in to another
family feud: Crespo vs. Crespo or Jimenez vs. Jimenez.
The drama has also been
sensationalized and the unfolding events no less shocking. The
battle is now in the courts with both sides represented by
high-profile lawyers: former solicitor general Frank Chavez for
former Manila congressman Mark Jimenez, a.k.a. Mario Crespo, and
Atty. Lorna Kapunan for Jimenez’s estranged partner, Caroline
Castañeda-Jimenez.
Ms. Jimenez has filed charges of
kidnapping and serious illegal detention with coercion against her
husband after she was rescued by agents of the National Bureau of
Investigation from a drug rehabilitation facility in Las Piñas
City.
In her affidavit, Carol alleged
that she was kept under horrible conditions while at the Silvercrest
Rehabilitation Center. “I was locked up and kept incommunicado,
treated worse than a convicted felon and was exposed to mental
torture by Mark Jimenez. It is the greatest irony that my detention
should come at the hands of a convicted felon like Mark Jimenez,”
she narrated.
Mark Jimenez, who was described
by former President Estrada as a corporate genius, made his millions
while pursuing the American dream in the United States and the
Caribbean. He insisted that Carol is a drug dependent and has to be
confined in a facility, a charge that the latter has denied. Jimenez
has filed estafa charges against Carol and some of his own children.
Ironically, some of Jimenez’s
own children by his marriage to Aleli Pansacola, have sided with
Carol, and called their father crazy. Is he or isn’t he?
We are still waiting for the
denouement of these two telenovelas. Abangan.
malinaolito@yahoo.com
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