Controversial celebrity Gretchen Barretto is in the news again.
She is being mentioned in show biz talk shows and news reports over an alleged incident said to have happened in early June in which her credit card was declined in a posh restaurant located in a Makati five-star hotel. As she presented her credit card to pay the bill for her dinner with Ruffa Gutierrez, Pops Fernandez and a non-showbiz friend named Josie, Gretchen was informed that the bank had declined the card.
According to the reports, Gretchen had answered back to the waiter, “That cannot be, we own the bank.” The cashier then tried several times to get the bank’s approval but failed. Ruffa instead paid the P4,000++ bill in cash. Reports also said that Gretchen’s long-time partner, businessman Tony Boy Cojuangco had rushed to the scene and tried to settle the problem. But, the reports added, the couple ended up quarreling over the incident.
As a result of the controversy, Gretchen told entertainment columnist Ricky Lo that she was seriously considering leaving the country for good.
In an exclusive interview with Philippine Entertainment Portal (PEP) on Thursday, Gretchen’s manager Boy Abunda confirmed that the incident did happen but clarified that the card was not declined because the transaction exceeded the credit limit or it was due to deactivation. Abunda said the whole brouhaha was a result of a hardware malfunction of the restaurant’s card reader. The machine’s magnetic stripe reader was not able to read Gretchen’s card, he said.
Boy also clarified that Gretchen was not leaving the country because of the incident. He clarified it was the couple’s plan even before to accompany their daughter Dominique in her studies abroad. Gretchen and Tony Boy’s relationship remained strong, Boy said.
Boy did not confirm or deny Gretchen’s “we own the bank” remarks to the waiter and the argument between Gretchen and Tony Boy. He also could not determine why Gretchen did not attend Ruffa’s recent birthday party or confirm that her no-show was a result of the incident. But, he said Gretchen and Ruffa were already on speaking terms.
He also said he was “not privy” to an alleged incident wherein Gretchen had fumed at PEP and YES! Magazine Editor-in-chief Jo-Ann Maglipon for breaking the story on the online portal.
Boy was also asked if it was indeed Ruffa’s personal assistant who leaked the incident to the press. Boy said it was “immaterial”. He revealed Gretchen is using the credit card again,
July 9th, 2008 at 11:36 am
I find the incident funny. For an “upscale” restaurant to not have a backup method of accepting cc payments is ridiculous. Imagine all the other customers paying cash. If the machine malfunctioned, the merchant can go back to the “old” way of making an impression of the card. Then, the card holder signs the paper.
More likely, the card was over its limit or was closed.
July 9th, 2008 at 3:49 am
Maybe she’s not responsible for the payment thats why she don’t know that all credit cards has limit.Pag rich ka ,card malfunction, pag poor decline ganun lang iyon at may “maalala mo kaya” siya to promote kaya.. iyon.
July 8th, 2008 at 11:43 pm
This is a big b…shit! Gretchen and Boy Abunda is making fool out of the Filipino people. Filipino like us in abroad are very pissed off by the statements by these two fools blaming the machine for refusing the card. In this situation all they need to do is call the credit card company to request for an authorization for the purchase and at the same time the bank can tell the card holder why it si being refused. This is a factual info and all retailers know this procedures. Why don’t you ask Tonyboy? she said they own the bank. What a social wannabee - langaw lang na nakadapo sa kalabaw akala mo mas malaki pa sa kalabaw.
July 8th, 2008 at 3:35 pm
How in the world could they own the bank?! The Cojuangco’s may have stocks but she is not a Cojuangco. She is just a mistress/concubine. So she doesnt have the right to say “they” owned the bank.
Totally embarassing. lol
July 8th, 2008 at 3:18 pm
pls do not make a big deal about it and try to move on.