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,
September 20th, 2008 at 2:43 am
im not a fan of any one involved. I find gretch very beautiful though, but boy abunda irritating, what with his know-it-all posture..san ka pa nakakita ng talkshow host na mas madaming sinasabi sa guest. he answers all the questions he asks. his show on anc is the only one i dislike!!! his pompous words are ….very pretensious!!!
anent the credit card incident, although i find the demeanor of gretchen quite humbug, i must admit it really happens… iv been declined a couple of times at several pizza huts for lame bills not exceeding a thousand! And i hold a gold card which would subsequently allow me to purchase in other establishments with amounts over 5000! tsk tsk..it’s bad when this happens, but it should be rectified when you have cash to pay instead. too bad gretch didnt have any!
September 19th, 2008 at 3:00 pm
wala ka naman talagang maasahang matinong balita pagdating kay gretchen. papuputol ko mga daliri ko pag meron.
July 15th, 2008 at 7:12 am
Its ok Gretch. It happens to anyone and can happen all the time. Whether its the card or the machine, that is irrelevant. People knows you have the money and the amount is no big deal. People who make a big fuss out of it are just obviously envy of your beauty, fame and money. There can never be another you, Gretchen Barredo Cojuangco.
July 14th, 2008 at 5:57 pm
social climber ka talaga!!!
July 13th, 2008 at 12:11 am
Machine Malfunction? that’s very funny…if there was a machine malfunction it wouldn’t have issued a decline message. Since it issued a decline message, it means something wrong with the account..Funny Funny Funny…