Raymart Santiago speaks out on Inday Barretto's accusations against him
Raymart Santiago has spoken out amid the recent barrage of accusations placed against him by his ex-wife Claudine Barretto’s mother Inday.
On Oct. 27, the actor posted a series of Instagram Stories where he lamented being left with no choice but to speak up to protect his name and his children.
“Sa loob ng halos labintatlong taon, pinili kong manahimik at idaan ang lahat sa tamang proseso. Naging mahirap ito dahil ang pangalan na iningatan at ipinamana ng aking mga magulang ay nadungisan dahil sa mga kasinungalingan at maling akusasyon,” Santiago wrote.
Santiago pointed out that he knows that staying silent amid the issue would be best for their respective families, noting that he and the people around him and Claudine are aware of the truth anyway.
"Hindi kaila sa akin ang paninira at nakasusuklam na akusasyon ni Mommy Inday," he continued, referring to her as someone he treated as his "second mother." He added, "Pero nakakagulat, dahil 'yung tao na dapat na higit na nakakikilala sa kanyang anak ang taong siya mismong walang humpay sa paghingi ng paumanhin sa akin noong mga nagdaang panahon ay siya ngayong nagbibitaw ng kasinungalingan."
While his past relationship with Claudine was not perfect, Santiago maintained that his conscience is clear. "Kailanman ay hindi ko nagawa o magagawa ang mga paratang nila," he stressed.
"Tinupad ko ang pangako ko sa kanila ni Daddy Pikey (Claudine's late father)," he continued. "Kahit na sarili ko ay tinaya ko para maprotektahan lang ang anak nila. Higit sa lahat, mahal na mahal ko ang aking mga anak at binigay ko ang higit pa sa nararapat."
He ended his Stories by saying he would continue to choose respect, and would allow time to reveal the truth.
Inday Barretto's allegations vs Raymart Santiago
In an expletive-filled interview last week on Ogie Diaz’s YouTube channel, Inday accused Santiago of covering Claudine’s mouth with a towel, dragging her around, and chasing her like a cat would chase a scared mouse. At one point, Inday said her daughter looked like a “zombie” because of all the alleged abuse.
Soon after Inday’s interview, Santiago’s legal counsel released a statement, which essentially dismissed Inday’s accusations as baseless.
They further maintained that the older Barretto’s fury was apparently due to a certain “conjugal land” that Claudine sold in 2022 without informing Santiago.
Early in 2024, Barretto claimed that when they were still together, Santiago took the “hundreds of millions” in savings she had, leaving her with just P25,000.
The couple continues to scourge through ongoing cases filed by Barretto against Santiago, including Violence Against Women and Children, annulment, custody of their children, and disputes with money and property.
Santiago and Barretto were married in 2006, separated in 2013, and are still in the process of having their marriage annulled. They share two children: adopted daughter Sabina, 21, and biological son Santino, 18. Barretto later on adopted two more children: Quia and Noah.
