MANILA, Philippines — Actor Dennis Trillo and Jennylyn Mercado’s longtime manager, Becky Aguila, have spoken up in defense of the actress following Patrick Garcia’s recent statements about their past relationship.
Mercado’s camp had earlier said Wednesday that the actress would not comment or grant interviews regarding Garcia’s statements, choosing instead to keep her side private out of respect for both families.
Trillo, who is married to Mercado, addressed the issue in a Facebook post.
“Hindi ako pabor sa bashing, pero salamat at naalala mo si Jazz dahil sa pag-bash sa anak mo. (I do not support bashing, but thank you for remembering Jazz because of the bashing of your daughter,)” Trillo wrote.
He ended his post with a call for positivity: “O spread L(o)VE not Hate.”
Aguila, meanwhile, addressed Garcia directly in a lengthy Facebook post,l.
“Hi Patrick. Long time no see or talk/txt. Nakakabigla naman pasabog mo (Your revelation was quite shocking). I am posting this, not as Jen’s manager, but as her second mom,” Aguila wrote.
Aguila questioned why Garcia chose to discuss the matter publicly instead of reaching out to her privately.
“Why did u have to resort to an interview? Kahit wala na si Tita Lydia, andito pa naman ako (Even though Tita Lydia is no longer here, I am still here),” she wrote.
Aguila said she did not want to hurt Garcia or damage his image but expressed that she was hurt on Mercado’s behalf.
“Ayokong makasakit at makasira ng image pero nasasaktan ako for Jen (I do not want to hurt anyone or damage anyone’s image, but I am hurting for Jen.),” she said.
She then questioned Garcia’s decision to speak publicly to defend his daughter while, in her view, bringing renewed attention to Mercado and their son, Alex Jazz.
"After all your shortcomings toward Jen, especially when it comes to Jazz, you still chose to give an interview to protect your daughter from bashers at the expense of Jen and Jazz. You seem to have forgotten that she is the mother of your child," Aguila wrote.
Aguila also said Garcia could have approached her directly if he had concerns that needed to be addressed.
“If you had concerns, you could have reached out to me and we could have discussed them properly with Jen and Dennis. They are easy to talk to," she wrote.
"There are a lot of things you did to hurt her, and she never told others about them out of respect for you as the father of her child, and also out of respect for your family, who have been living quietly. But I remember all of those things," Aguila added.
Aguila also disputed Garcia’s account, saying she believed there were omissions and additions in his version of events.
"I’m sorry, Patrick, but there are many things missing from and added to your version of the truth."
"Your mother had already remained silent, you brought the issue back to life, and this is all on you," she added.
Aguila ended her post saying she hoped his decision to speak publicly had achieved its intended purpose.
“I hope nakatulong nga ito sa daughter mo (I hope this really helped your daughter). And hopefully you are satisfied with all the things you’ve done,” she added.
Aguila concluded, "All I can say is that you never deserved Jen’s love in the first place. And you will never earn my respect.”
