Heart Evangelista’s parents break down: ‘Escudero is an opportunist’

Cecile Ongpauco, mother of actress Heart Evangelista, is demanding an apology from Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero for being supposedly disrespectful and arrogant and for “manipulating” her daughter into “going against the family.” Evangelista was a “victim,” she said, and appealed to Escudero again to “leave my daughter alone.” In a phone interview with the Inquirer Wednesday afternoon, Ongpauco said Evangelista, the youngest of her six children, had moved out of her (the actress’) condominium unit in Makati City. The Ongpaucos have their own unit in the same building. “We don’t know where she is,” the actress’ mother said, adding that before the misunderstanding, she had a “beautiful relationship” with her daughter. “We were together almost every day. She would cook breakfast for me and her dad (Rey Ongpauco). We were OK,” she said. Mother and daughter were last seen together when the actress renewed her talent contract with GMA 7 early this month. Evangelista playfully refers to Ongpauco as her “mommyger,” or short for mommy and manager. During the contract signing, Ongpauco told the media: “Heart is 28 (years old now) and very capable of making her own decisions … She’s a woman now; I’ve had to adjust [to this].” Still ‘innocent’ But on Wednesday, Ongpauco was saying something to the contrary, expressing grave concern for her daughter, whom she said was “still young and innocent, overprotected as a child.” Evangelista “does not have a mature mind and still thinks like a young girl,” the mother said. “She is easily swayed by people who prey on her insecurities and lack of confidence.” Ongpauco added

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Leave our daughter, Heart's parents tell Chiz

On Tuesday, Cecile and Rey Ongpauco, the parents of the actress whose real name is Love Marie Ongpauco, held a press conference to formally appeal to their daughter and Escudero to reconsider their relationship. The move of the Ongpaucos comes after Escudero's statement last month that he intends to marry Evangelista in five years. In an interview with ABS-CBN News' Mario Dumaual, Cecile expressed "concern about the future of our daughter." "She has not thought about this sufficiently or properly. We think she should think about this for a longer period of time. Nag-aalala lang kami sa anak namin," she said. Cecile went on to enumerate their reasons for opposing their daughter's relationship with the lawmaker. One reason she cited is that Evangelista and Escudero may not be able to marry as Catholics. 7 reasons Referring to the annulment of Escudero's marriage with his former wife Christine Flores last year, Cecile said: "He was married with two children and he got an annulment in court, but not in the Catholic church. That means he can only marry our daughter outside the Catholic church." "Our family, including Heart, is Catholic, so we do not wish for Heart not to marry in the Catholic church," she said. Cecile also cited the age difference between her 28-year-old daughter and the 42-year-old Escudero, and Evangelista's supposed lack of preparedness for a domestic life. "Natatakot lang kami para kay Heart, dahil para sa amin hindi pa siya handa maging isang asawa ng isang politician na napakatanda sa kanya, nang 16 years," she said. "Parati naman naming sinusuportahan si Heart. Hindi naman sanay si Heart sa gawaing bahay, o pagpapatakbo ng bahay, kasi masyado namin na-baby 'yan, overprotected, na-sheltered masyado," she said. The third reason for their objection, Cecile said, is Escudero's alleged "fondness" for alcohol. Recalling their first meeting with the senator, the Ongpauco couple said they felt disrespected by Escudero, who Rey even referred to as "lasinggero." "Sa aming experience kay Mr. Escudero,

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