Raymart Santiago and Claudine Barretto's Official Statement On Rumored Separation

Raymart Santiago and Claudine Barretto, amid the bank withdrawal controversy that started Tuesday, issued an official statement refuting rumors that they were separately living for two months now.

It has been widely tackled in social networking sites, news and entertainment blogs that the couple allegedly engaged in a heated argument and physical confrontation that led to the purported withdrawal by Raymart of the bank deposit amounting to at least P5 million from his joint account with Claudine.

Several hours ago, the celebrity couple released an official statement to, once and for all, put the issue to rest. Here it is:

In recent days, there have been numerous negative rumors about our marriage and our relationship, all of which have caused us, our children, and our families undue stress, strain, and unnecessary tension.

In order to dispel all these unfounded innuendos, we now publicly declare, in the simplest and clearest terms that:

WE ARE STILL TOGETHER, we have not separated, we love each other, and we both value and cherish our marriage and relationship.

Any issues that we may have are private, and do not detract from, nor diminish, the strength of our marriage. We ask that the public allow us to deal with our minor concerns without the glare and glee of media speculation that only hurt us and those we love.

We are both deeply committed to our two (2) children, whom we love unconditionally. As concerned and devoted parents, we shall zealously protect their privacy, and their right to be untouched by malice and gossip. We plead with the public to respect their rights: they are innocent children unjustly harmed by the baseless gossip about us.

“We hope this JOINT STATEMENT settles and lays to rest all questions about us as a couple, and as individuals.”

Raymart and Claudine have been married for more than five years now. They have two children, Rodrigo Santino and Sabina.