MARJORIE BARRETTO
“IF a guy leaves you, shame on him…but if you take him back, shame on you!”
Ito ang quotable quote we vividly remember having said by Marjorie Barretto. This was around early 90s when we’d go out as a group, kabilang ang dyowa niya noong si Dennis Padilla and then-lovebirds Ai Ai delas Alas and Miguel Vera.
Isang gabing wala kaming magawa, we drove all the way to Antipolo. May gimikan kasi sa tuktok nito (hilltop) na lagus-lagusan ang malamig na hangin sa aming kalamnan. Overlooking Metro Manila ‘yon na kapag sumasapit na ang gabi seems like a vast expanse of scattered diamonds.
Mga kalat-kalat na kubul-kubol ‘yon, bamboo-made varnished huts ideal for booze and endless noise-free tsikahan.
While were obviously the odd man out, we still managed to take part in what could pass for a round table discussion pero parihaba nga lang ang mesa. No, walang showbiz topic. Rather, it was about life in general particularly human relationships.
The tsikahan then meandered on couples, either magdyowa pa lang o ikinasal na. So much like the two pairs we were surrounded by, staying together minus the sanctity of marriage.
Partikular na na-touch ang tungkol sa mga breakups, with the guy in the relationship junking the girl for another. Issue on betrayal, that is.
Marjorie, truth be told, has always earned our admiration. Of the Barretto sisters, we thought she was the sexiest. Baligtarin mo kasi ang kanyang buttocks ay hugis puso ito.
But more than the physical, hanga kami kay Marj for being so articulate. Her command of the English language is impeccable.
Having espousal separations as the topic, Marj—to our recollection—wrapped it all up. Walang iniwan ‘yon sa isang showbiz-oriented talk show whose main host delivers a closing spiel before a commercial break.
At ‘yun na nga ang kanyang parting shots (this column’s opening line).
As we are processing it now, bigla naming nahanapan ‘yon ng kunek sa hiwalayang Bea Alonzo-Gerald Anderson yet according to the actress, there never was an official breakup.
At kung hindi kami nagkakamali, pangalawang pagbabalikan na ito nina Bea at Gerald after “sumaydlayn” ang aktor sa iba. If so, bago sila nagkalabuan, that was after Bea took Gerald back for the second time until Julia came along.
Maybe, Marj can offer her quotable quote as a piece of advice to Bea. Coming from Julia’s mother, it would strike as a word of encouragement for women who feel betrayed and strung along by their men.
‘Yun nga lang, while Marj’s intention is to make Bea preserve her self-respect, it’s also as if she (Marj) wants her daughter to make a go for it.