Heart takes on the 'Marian issue'

Almost a month after Marian Rivera made a statement regarding their much-talked about feud, it is Heart Evangelista's turn to tell her story.

In the July 21 press conference held at the Barrio Fiesta restaurant in Greenhills, San Juan, Heart admitted that there was "friction" between her and Marian  during the shooting of their movie "Temptation Island" in Ilocos Norte.

Marian also made hints about this during the "Temptation Island" press conference last June 23. The actress had added that she thought it was merely a misunderstanding between friends. She did not elaborate on what exactly happened though.

"Ang pagkakaalam ko kasi—at hindi lang din naman ako, lahat ng cast, cast and crew, pati ng direktor—maayos ang lahat. Okay kaming lahat. Sobrang nag-usap kami, naging okay kaming lahat. Sorry i-dro-drop ko yung name ni Lovi, (Poe) pero andun s'ya, nag-usap kami, wala naman kaming pinagawayan. Wala talaga. At hindi kami nag-away. Yun na nga lang, pagdating sa airport, nagulat ako," Marian said.

Marian refused to elaborate what happened at the airport, but said: "Pero sa nangyari dun sa airport, parang di yata n'ya ako magkaibigan. Parang nagulat lang ako na bakit nagkaroon ng ganun e pag-alis namin galing Laoag, maayos kaming lahat, masasaya kaming lahat, so medyo nagulat din ako na pagdating sa airport may ganung nangyari na kahit ako na-shock ako na buti andun si Lovi para i-comfort n'ya ako."

Back then, Heart did not give any statement about the supposed the conflict with Marian. She did have occasional tweets that hinted at what had transpired.

Confrontation

According to Heart, the conflict began when she expressed her excitement about working with Dingdong Dantes, Marian's boyfriend.

"When she talked to me, she said na may narinig raw s'ya na excited akong makatrabaho si Dong and she requested that next time 'wag ko na lang daw po sabihin 'yun," Heart said.

In her official statement, Heart said she was supposed to work with Dingdong in a now-shelved project titled "Cain at Abel."

She said Marian confronted her twice in her hotel room.  It was there, according to Heart, that the  "Amaya" lead star screamed and threatened her.

After the first confrontation, Heart asked the movie's production staff to book her in a different room to prevent another confrontation.

"Pero pagpupunta na ako sa kwarto ko, andun na naman s'ya tapos wala na po akong nagawa. Pagkatapos nun, kinatok na po kami ng head dun sa production and umalis na po s'ya. After that, cloudy na sa akin lahat. Nagtrabaho na lang ako dun at gusto ko ng umuwi," Heart said.

Heart explained that she had no intention of calling her parents, but the movie's head of production told her inform them about the incident.

When the movie staff and crew got back to Manila, Heart admitted  that her mother, Cecille Ongpauco, met her at the airport. However, she denied reports that a confrontation happened between her mother and Marian. Heart also said bodyguards did not accompany her mom.

"Wala pong confrontation na naganap. Hindi po sya sinigawan ng mommy ko. Hindi po totoo na nagdala kami ng napakaraming pulis. It was airport security. Nag-assist lang po sa mommy ko ang dalawang taga-security dahil bawal na po magsundo ng pasahero dun sa loob. Dun lang po sya sa may labas na naghihintay, dun sa may baggage area," Heart said.

She added, "So nung lumabas po ako, binati po ng mommy ko yung ibang artista na bumati sa kanya. And we left na po right away."

Threats

The controversy that stemmed from the conflict, Heart said, affected both her personal life and  career.

"Ang dami ko na pong natanggap na death threats galing sa fans ni Marian na, syempre, tao lang po ako at natatakot po ako kasi kasi may mga threats na bubuhusan daw ako ng asido, bubuhusan daw po nila ako. At hindi na po biro yung ganun, medyo nakakabulabog po," Heart explained.

She also said: "Sinabi lang po n'ya na isang text lang po n'ya sa fans nya, papatayin nila ako."

Four of Heart's endorsement projects were allegedly also put on hold because of the negative publicity the issue generated.

Still, the "Dwarfina" lead star said she understands Marian's fans for wanting to defend their idol.

"Masama lang po talaga ang loob ko, syempre, kasi medyo masakit na po. Kasi syempre, the things she said, and pati pamilya ko nadamay. And I love my job. From the day I started all I wanted to do was be professional and work. Wala naman po akong pinipili na leading man. Kung sino po ang ibigay sa akin, okay lang po yun basta nakakapagtrabaho po ako. I respect Marian and I told her that. Tinaas ko po ang dalawa kong kamay nung nangyayari itong lahat. Sinabi ko, 'Ayokong makipagaway because I respect you and I look up to you,'" Heart explained.

She added, "Masama lang po ang loob ko kasi nabaligtad ang sitwasyon. But dumating na s'ya sa point na sobrang I really don't know what I feel. I'll take it one day at a time."

No legal action

According to Heart's lawyers, Archimedes Gonzalez and Camille Sevilla, they are not suing anyone at this point but the "possibility of filing the cases is on the table."

"Our firm is still studying the extent of the damages that our client received because of these incidents. We're getting ready to file appropriate cases if this doesn't get resolved in the soonest possible time," Gonzales said.

He added that Heart wants to resolve the conflict peacefully.

Gonzales explained that they held the press conference for the sake of fairness and to rebuild their client's credibility, which was damaged by the issue.

"I think ang importante, Marian should own up to the truth, to her actions. Kasi ang nangyari po dito, sya yung unang nagpahayag ng kung ano ang nangyari, yung kanyang version dun sa 'Temptation Island.' Pero ang nangyari nun, napasama yung aming kliyente. So perhaps it should also come from Marian kung ano talaga yung nangyari. Own up to the truth," Sevilla said.

Would their camp demand a retraction from Marian?

"Of course, we would appreciate that but our client right now just wants to get this down and over with. But of course, a retraction would be very much welcome," Gonzales said.

Heart's wish

"At the end of the day, gusto ko lang magtrabaho. Kasi ito lang naman ang gusto kong gawin, di ba? Ayoko ng gulo, ayoko na po ng kahit ano. Gusto kong magtrabaho na lang. Wala na naman po sa akin kung sino ang sikat. Kumbaga, nauntog na ako sa ulo dati, ngayon andito na ako, nabigyan ako ng second chance sa GMA, everything is going well. And then ito yung nangyari," Heart said.

She added, "Gusto ko lang magtrabaho, period. I just want to live my life."