Raymart Santiago's lawyer denies Claudine Barretto's claim of fake marriage

Raymart Santiago's lawyer, Atty. Ruth Castelo, denied Claudine Barretto's claim that her civil marriage with her estranged husband was fake.

In an interview, the actress said that their civil wedding in Isabela in 2004 is not valid because it was not registered.

"Hindi napasok 'yon sa Isabela nung 2004," Barretto said in an interview with Startalk's Ricky Lo. "Pinasok niya [Santiago] February 24, 2006, a month before the Tagaytay wedding, when I couldn’t say no anymore. I couldn’t back out. From 2004, ikinasal kami sa Isabela... May 2, 2004 sa Isabela, akala ko... then nag-live in na kami, akala ko kasal kami the whole time."

But according to Castelo, they wouldn't be currently going through the process of annulment if the marriage was fake.

"Ni hindi namin maintindihan kung papaano sasabihing fake," Castelo said in an interview with ABS-CBN News' Marie Lozano. "E, kasi di sana sila nagpapakahirap ngayon dun sa mga kaso. Wala na tayong iisiping annulment, 'di ba, kung fake ung marriage nila?"

The lawyer also denied Barretto's accusations that Santiago is stealing her properties and threatening her life.

"We did our investigation with the barangay office of Malanday where the house is located, and dun sa security group, we found out that there is no such thing, no slugs were recovered," the lawyer said.

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