Marjorie Barretto’s legal counsel, Atty. Lorna Kapunan, reportedly issued a warning against the circulation or sharing of her client’s scandal photos.
The lawyer’s text message, according to News5, reads:
Earlier, the actress turned politician told Philippine Entertainment Portal that the woman in the controversial materials isn’t her. Does her lawyer’s warning mean that the sleazy pictures are real?
Will her legal counsel file cases against netizens who shared the photos on their Facebook wall or Twitter page, but not the original uploaders, and even though her client already denied she’s the person in the photos?
It’s complicated.
UPDATE:
An unverified commenter named “Lorna P. Kapunan” posted on The Filipino Scribe asking the blog to take Marjorie’s photos down. Here’s what she wrote:
The follow-up comment of “Lorna P. Kapunan” apparently indicates admission on the part of her client. She wrote:
In an interview with ABS-CBN News, Atty. Kapunan appealed to the media not to interview her client.
“She’s a mother, she’s very upset. She’s not running for any public office precisely because she wants to guard her privacy. She has growing up daughters and ang concern niya is they are in the formative years where they understand. That’s why we are also expecting the media na sana huwag na interviewhin si Marj,” she reportedly said.
The racy photos, the lawyer stated, should remain private.
“Nothing is more valuable than your private reputation, nothing is more valuable than your family, and nothing is more valuable than your children. In the case of Marjorie, she has daughters so she’s appealing—regardless of what the moral judgment on the situation of the parties are concerned—to keep it private,” she continued.
Kapunan told ABS-CBN News that they already know who the culprit behind the scandal is, but clarified that this controversy is separate from the ongoing Barretto family feud.
“It is enough that there is so much publicity on the family already because of sibling squabble. This one is separate and it comes at the time where motives are suspect,” she added.
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| Marjorie Barretto (left); Atty. Lorna Kapunan (right) |
“Gud am. we are representing Marjorie Barretto-we have sent demand letters to bloggers, twitters, facebook, instagram etc. that uploading/downloading/displaying etc of the photos of Marjorie is a blatant violation of RA9995 Anti Photo and Video Voyeurism Act 2009 and her constitutional right to privacy.
We have issued a warning that whoever passes on the pictures, posts and reports in the internet or in print or in broadcast media is also LIABLE (not just the one who first uploaded it) & we will take all legal actions necessary to make them accountable.”
Earlier, the actress turned politician told Philippine Entertainment Portal that the woman in the controversial materials isn’t her. Does her lawyer’s warning mean that the sleazy pictures are real?
Will her legal counsel file cases against netizens who shared the photos on their Facebook wall or Twitter page, but not the original uploaders, and even though her client already denied she’s the person in the photos?
It’s complicated.
UPDATE:
An unverified commenter named “Lorna P. Kapunan” posted on The Filipino Scribe asking the blog to take Marjorie’s photos down. Here’s what she wrote:
“Lorna P. Kapunan
May 7, 2013 at 1:04 pm
Dear Mr. Blogger,
We write on behalf of our client, Ms. Marjorie Barretto.
We received information that you have made public a write-up and two (2) very private photos of her, which were not intended for public consumption.
Please note that your publication of said article and the photos in your blog site is a clear violation of our client’s Constitutional right to privacy and a blatant defiance of Republic Act No. 9995 also known as the “Anti-Photo and Video Voyeurism Act of 2009.” Be informed that RA 9995 clearly and categorically punishes the act of publishing or broadcasting, or causing to be published or broadcasted, whether in print or broadcast media or through the internet, the photo of a person showing her private areas. To emphasize, the subject photos were intended not to be made public and your dissemination of these private photos was without our client’s consent.
The matter of the dissemination and uploading of the afore-mentioned photos is already the subject of an investigation by the National Bureau of Investigation. We are taking all legal steps to ensure that the right to privacy of our client is respected. We will pursue all the appropriate legal actions necessary to ensure that those principally responsible for this criminal action are punished.
In view of the foregoing, we ask that your write-up about our client and the subject photos be immediately taken down and removed from your site. Otherwise, we will also be constrained to file the necessary actions against you.
We thank you in advance for your immediate attention on this matter.
Very truly yours,
KAPUNAN GARCIA & CASTILLO
By:
LORNA PATAJO-KAPUNAN”
The follow-up comment of “Lorna P. Kapunan” apparently indicates admission on the part of her client. She wrote:
“Lorna P. Kapunan
May 7, 2013 at 6:16 pm
Dear Mr. Blogger,
Thank you for your reply. In response thereto, please note that Ms. Barreto informed us that she made the initial remark denying the photos before she actually saw them. Later, after seeing the photos, Ms. Barretto told us that it is her.
We look forward that you will take down the photos soonest.”
In an interview with ABS-CBN News, Atty. Kapunan appealed to the media not to interview her client.
“She’s a mother, she’s very upset. She’s not running for any public office precisely because she wants to guard her privacy. She has growing up daughters and ang concern niya is they are in the formative years where they understand. That’s why we are also expecting the media na sana huwag na interviewhin si Marj,” she reportedly said.
The racy photos, the lawyer stated, should remain private.
“Nothing is more valuable than your private reputation, nothing is more valuable than your family, and nothing is more valuable than your children. In the case of Marjorie, she has daughters so she’s appealing—regardless of what the moral judgment on the situation of the parties are concerned—to keep it private,” she continued.
Kapunan told ABS-CBN News that they already know who the culprit behind the scandal is, but clarified that this controversy is separate from the ongoing Barretto family feud.
“It is enough that there is so much publicity on the family already because of sibling squabble. This one is separate and it comes at the time where motives are suspect,” she added.