The controversial lawyer of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has made good on his threat three weeks ago to sue Kapuso actress Bea Binene.
Atty. Ferdinand Topacio filed a civil lawsuit on Thursday at the Tanauan Regional Trial Court against the 14-year-old actress, her mother Carina, GMA legal counsel Flordeliza Vargas, GMA Artist Center assistant vice president Simon Ferrer, and GMA vice president for legal Lynn Delfin. He is seeking P5.7 million in moral damages.
Topacio called his case “a demand for respect” from the defendants. “Sapagkat nabastos po tayo rito. Tayo na tumulong, tayo pa ang nalaglag,” he said.
He decried a recent press conference in which Bea and her mother denied ever hiring his legal services. In his complaint, Topacio included documents that he said will prove that the GMA network formally acknowledged him as a lawyer for the actress.
“They should learn how to deal with people na hindi naman ganon. They could have just talked to me and GMA management could just have talked to me to clarify things. At pagkasabing ganoon nagpa-presscon sila and destroyed my good name and reputation,” Topacio said.
In his own press conference three weeks ago, Topacio claimed that he and the Binenes first met in the lobby of the GMA Building on Edsa Timog in November. After the chance encounter, he helped Bea secure GMA’s permission to release “Hey, It’s Me”, a debut album she had recorded with Galaxy Records.
Last month, Topacio received an email from Bea’s mother asking for advice on how to evict an overstaying houseguest. This houseguest was Dan Christian Villanueva, a.k.a. Papa Dan, a 29-year-old disc jockey of GMA’s FM station, WLS-FM, who often hosted mall shows featuring Bea and other GMA stars.
By then, rumors were already circulating that the 14-year-old actress and the 29-year-old deejay had become more than friends and housemates.
The same email, it turned out, also found its way to the GMA legal department, which promptly talked to Papa Dan and convinced him to leave the Binene property immediately.
Four days after Papa Dan’s voluntary departure, Topacio filed charges against the deejay at the CIDG on behalf of the Binenes. The complaint was promptly dismissed because it lacked the Binenes’ signatures.
Bea and her mother have since distanced themselves from Topacio and claimed that they never hired him as a lawyer.
The cover page of the complaint filed by Atty. Topacio. (MJ Marfori)
In his complaint, Topacio said he included documents that will prove that the Binenes sought his help in evicting their overstaying houseguest.
Topacio has demanded a public apology from the Binenes and the GMA management, but Bea told media early this week that she and her mother have nothing to apologize for.
After filing his lawsuit, Topacio reiterated his openness to an amicable settlement if only the defendants would apologize to him.
“An apology from Ms. Bea Binene and Mrs. Carina Binene is enough for me! I’m not even closing the door. Kahit ngayon kausapin nila ako. Mag-usap kami,” he declared.
He likewise dismissed the malicious insinuation that he had romantic designs on the actress, saying that he treated her like his own daughter.
“May pagtingin ako sa kanya bilang anak because I don’t have a daughter. And gaya ng sinasabi ko she was the daughter that I never had. I have never ever acted improperly towards her!” he said.
Bea Binene and her mother could not be reached for comment.
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