The lawyer for actor Cesar Montano has belittled the charges of rape and physical and verbal filed by his estranged wife Sunshine Cruz on Tuesday, calling it a “mere verbatim rehash” of her earlier petition for a temporary protection order that had been denied by the court.
In a statement sent to media on Wednesday, Atty. Joel Ferrer nevertheless denied Cruz’s allegations and called her claim of marital rape “preposterous”.
Following is Atty. Ferrer’s full statement:
“The criminal complaint for violation of R.A. 9262 filed by Sunshine Cruz against my client, Cesar Montano, is a mere verbatim rehash of the petition for protection order earlier filed. It must be recalled that the application for a Temporary Protection Order (TPO) was denied by the court last week though a hearing for the protection order is set on Aug. 15.
“Be that as it may, my client vehemently denies the charges and prevarications leveled against him as contained in the complaint of Cruz. We maintain that there is no truth whatsoever that my client abused Cruz whether physical or verbal. The marital rape Cruz is alluding to is simply preposterous.
“From what we know, my client was invited by Cruz to join her and their children for dinner on May 12, 2013, Mothers’ Day. They had dinner at the Edsa Shangrila Hotel. Thereafter Montano slept and stayed overnight at the present residence of Cruz. He left the place the following day. The two even had exchanges of text messages of good nature belying any animosity between them several days after the Mothers’ Day celebration.
“Relative to the custody of the children, it is actually the children’s preference that they stay at their family residence at Tivoli Royale. It is also worth mentioning that Cruz is at liberty to see them anytime whether at the Tivoli residence on in the school where the children go to every single day. It is Cruz’s expressed decision not to go probably due to her hectic work schedule.
“We believe Cruz filed the cases against Montano to gain leverage in her fervent desire to seek an annulment of their marriage. To this date Montano is exerting earnest effort to preserve their matrimonial bond especially for the sake of their children.”
