Atty. Rowena Guanzon Weighs in on Legal Threat Against Sabrina M.

 

Actress Claudine Barretto and former sex icon Sabrina M. are involved in the most recent celebrity dispute and former Comelec Commissioner Atty. Regarding Barretto's intention to file a lawsuit, Rowena Guanzon has voiced her opinion.

The argument started when Sabrina M. stated that following Barretto and Rico Yan's split, she had a romantic involvement with him. She also said Yan's brother, who was older, knew about their involvement.

Barretto's legal counsel, the Attorney, retorted. On July 13 of last year, Ferdinand Topacio said on "Cristy Ferminute" that legal action would be taken against Sabrina M. Unless she expressed her apologies to Barretto and Yan's family in public. Topacio asserted that given the contradicting timings and the fact that Barretto and Yan continued to live together after their separation up until Yan's death, they would probably bring a libel action.

"Is she the spouse, sibling, child, or parent? If not, then she does not have the authority to file the case. She lacks standing, she has no right. To be honest, it's difficult to believe in the tough posturing of some lawyers," Guanzon said in a video. "The question here is, who has the right to pay for libel in an attempt to defame the memory of someone who is already deceased.

“Ang tanong naman dyan, sino naman may karapatan magbayad ng libel sa tending to blacken the memory of one who’s dead. Asawa ba siya? Kapatid, anak ba siya? o ina ba siya? Oh hinde, edi hindi siya pwedeng siya ang magsampa ng kaso. Ang tawag dun wala siyang standing, wala kang karapatan. Sa true lang, mahirap na yung maniwala tayo sa mga pa-astig astig lang ng mga abogado,” she said in a video.

Guanzon and Topacio have a history of personal strife because they've run into each other in court before.

Guanzon filed an unjust vexation complaint against Topacio in August 2020 as a result of his remarks that suggested she had Alzheimer's disease, just like her deceased mother. Due to Topacio's online defamatory remarks, Guanzon filed a disbarment case against him with the Integrated Bar of the Philippines in June 2022.

Topacio filed an indirect contempt petition against Guanzon with the Supreme Court in February 2023 after she made the public aware of the case for his disbarment.

The mother of the deceased Rico Yan, Sita Yan, appealed to the parties involved in the ongoing dispute to stop exploiting her son's memory. The Yan family's official statement was released by Ogie Diaz via his vlog on July 17. Given that her late son is no longer here to respond, Mrs. Yan claimed that the allegations made about him are unfair. She begged everyone to let the memory of her son and their family rest in peace.

As the issue continues to escalate, Sabrina M. remains adamant in her refusal to issue a public apology. In the next few days, the situation is probably going to get worse.

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Source: Atty. Rowena Guanzon on legal threat against Sabrina M.: ‘Wala s’yang standing’ (msn.com), Marisol.