Dingdong speaks up

The two ferocious females — Jessa Zaragoza, the triumphant wife; and Rufa Mae Quinto, the disgruntled ex-girlfriend — have spoken up, hurling mouthfuls against each other while the whole world eavesdropped with glee.

The man in the eye of the storm — Dingdong Avanzado — is compelled to speak up to put a period to a word war that is fast degenerating into a fishwives’ fight.

“There are certain things that I have to clear up,” Dingdong told Funfare, reiterating what he said when he and his family arrived two weeks ago from Vallejo, California, where they are now based. “We didn’t come home to fight with anybody but to attend to important matters.”

First things first: The (ma)lingering Jessa-Rufa Mae issue.

Was Rufa Mae “drunk” when she was interviewed by YES! magazine for that controversial tell-all article in which she chronicled her romances with a dozen guys, one of them Dingdong?

Did Jessa really say that Dingdong stopped seeing Rufa Mae after he caught Rufa Mae with an actor-politician right at her home?

Did Jessa snatch/steal Dingdong from Rufa Mae?

In measured words, Dingdong said that...

l. “She reopened old wounds, she dug up everything, so we have a right to defend ourselves for the sake of our daughter who, although she’s only five years old, was badly affected by the whole thing after she saw her mom crying.”

2. “I won’t comment on anything else except on the fact that, contrary to Rufa Mae’s accusation, my family didn’t look down at her, hindi siya minaliit ng pamilya ko, and she was the first one who hit me (slapped me) during an argument.” (Asked if he and Rufa Mae were “committed” to each other during the one year that they were dating, Dingdong kept mum. Some sources said that what happened between them was not a “relationship” but only an “affair.”)

3. “Jessa didn’t snatch me from anybody; hindi niya ako inagaw kanino man. When I started going steady with Jessa, wala na kami ni Rufa Mae; we had stopped seeing each other by then.”

Now, for the more “important” matters the couple has come home for:

l. “Now that we are settled in California, we are selling our townhouse (in Ayala Heights, Quezon City) now that it’s fully paid.”

2. “Jessa will finish recording for her new album.”

3. “We just came back from Guam over the weekend where we held the Celebrity  Golf Tournament where stars competed, the first for the Guam Business Bureau. It’s our company which is the marketing arm for its tourism effort. But we did hold a similar golf tournament also in Guam a few years ago.”

4. “We are here to celebrate my 40th birthday on July 7 after which we go back to the States for a series of concerts.”

(Note: Actually, Dingdong spoke up on many other things. I just don’t want to preempt his tell-all guesting on The Ricky Lo Exclusives tonight on Q-11, 8:30 to 9:30. Please watch it. Other guests include Anjo Yllana, Sunshine Cruz, Mariah Carey, The Osmonds, Air Supply, and Gladys Guevarra.)

What’s up?

• Condolence to the bereaved family of movie writer and publisher Rudy Ner Siongco who died last Sunday. His remains lie at the Christ The King Church in Green Meadows, Quezon City. He will be buried on Thursday, June 19, after a necrological Mass.

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