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 4th, 2008 at 9:46 am
si gretchen parang ang taas na ng tingin nya sa sarili…naaawa ako sayo gretchen kasi pinakita molang kung gaano ka ka cheap. please don’t say we own the bank because you’re not….kasi kabit ka lang…..
July 4th, 2008 at 3:29 am
Please, they can always enter the credit card manually……it was obviously declined because Tony Boy cancelled it. duh!
July 4th, 2008 at 2:24 am
yeah, its impossible for them to own citibank. gretchen, you can buy all things!
July 3rd, 2008 at 7:19 pm
Wala ba syang cash. Diba the bill was only less than P5000? Besides, if they claim that the magnetic strip was bad then just type in the credit card number manually or just call it in. Credit card companies have 24/7 customer service. Maybe next time to avoid public embarrasment, make sure may pambayad ka, cash man or credit. Besides, she owns the bank right… nakakahiya kasi kung nanlilibre ka tapos sabihin sau declined card mo!
July 3rd, 2008 at 11:33 am
no, cant encode the credit card nbr manually, its not a UPC barcode same as in the grocery items being used, just in case the scanner cant read it.