Barretto brother defends Gretchen, reveals Claudine's 'condition'

MANILA, Philippines - Joaquin "Jayjay" Barretto, brother of feuding actresses Gretchen and Claudine, expressed resentment over their mother Inday's public letter, published in the Philippine Star, lashing out against eldest child Gretchen.

In a statement issued to the media on Wednesday night, Joaquin defended Gretchen against Inday's accusations, which he describes as "shocking and hurtful."

"You have lifted Claudine on a pedestal as the teleserye queen and labeled Gretchen nothing but an ST queen. But who took over the role of her parents, worked at the age of 12 and gave up her education to put her siblings to school? Who put food on the table, paid for the rent, electricity and hospital bills when dad suffered from his heart condition at least two times?" Joaquin said, addressing his mother, who publicly disowned Gretchen in her statement.

The correspondence referred to Gretchen's early acting stints starring in daring roles and B movies, which Inday pits against achievements of Claudine, her youngest child, with title roles in primetime television drama serials.

"Did you ever once stop her from doing all that because you loved her and wanted to protect her just like what you are now doing for Claudine?" Joaquin continued.

In her letter published in full under Ricky Lo's entertainment column Funfare, Inday Barretto accused Gretchen of trying to ruin niece Julia Barretto's blooming show business career and of sending malicious mobile messages to Claudine.

To this, Joaquin wrote: "What bothers me most is that while she attacks my sister, Gretchen, and pictures her as evil personified, she seems to have forgotten the truth. Mom, as you have gone out of (your) way to answer the issues that Claudine ought to answer for herself, maybe it is high time to reflect on things and address these concerns as well."

He also claimed that it was not Gretchen that sent scarring SMS messages and made phone calls to Claudine, since the older actress has long refused to take the younger's calls.

"Hasn't Claudine changed her mobile number many times while still owning many prepaid sim cards as well?" Joaquin asked.

Joaquin attempted to clear the issue on young Julia, as well, saying it was Claudine who threatened to "make an expose" about her, while Gretchen tried to protect the fledgling star.

"If there is anyone who cared more for her niece, we all know it is Gretchen, as she has proven when she chose to protect me and my siblings for a long, long time. This explains exactly why, as you said, we never complained about our childhood," he added.

Claudine's 'condition'

Inday, while only suggesting that Gretchen thought of Claudine to have a "mental illness," denied in the letter that she suffers from some behavioral quirks.

"Claudine has no “mental illness”…“mental torture,” yes, courtesy of an evil manipulation!" Inday said.

Joaquin, however, seemed to wonder why their mother refused to acknowledge Claudine's psychological "condition" when, as he claimed, it was the family who decided to bring her to a hospital.

"We all know the truth about Claudine's condition. May I remind you that it was you and dad who had her put in a hospital because you wanted to save her from destroying herself. Yes, Claudine is going through rough times. Again," he said.

"And if you truly love her, then you should take concrete steps to save her rather than hitting Gretchen simply because she is standing up to Claudine," Joaquin continued.

He concluded with an appeal to Inday to stop making accusations about her eldest daughter to avoid further damaging their family's ties.

"Please put a stop to this before our family totally falls apart while there is still something to save," he said.