MANILA, 22 August — Controversial Philippine television host Kris Aquino last night said she had ended her scandalous affair with a married former actor and politician amid an outrage.
In an interview with ABS-CBN television's TV Patrol, Kris said she and Joey Marquez, mayor of suburban Paranaque, both realized that they cannot pursue their much-publicized relationship, which has overshadowed yesterday's 19th death anniversary of her father, former senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr.
"In bagets (teenagers) lingo, it's called cool-off, the main thing is that we both realize that we cannot push it. As I've said, we already did a 'you and me against the world,'" she said.
Earlier in the day, her long-suffering mother, former President Corazon Aquino, broke her public silence on her youngest daughter's adulterous affair, curtly telling Kris to look for a better man.
The 31-year-old host of the popular quiz show Game Ka Na Ba confessed on national television earlier this month that she "shamed" the family by taking up with Marquez, who is seeking to annul his marriage with actress Alma Moreno.
Kris sparked a press scrum yesterday when she turned up at the Manila Memorial Park cemetery in Paranaque where a memorial mass was being celebrated to mark the 19th anniversary of the 1983 assassination of her father.
She was welcomed by a curt "hello" from her mother before attending the 10 a.m. mass.
After the brief greeting, mother and daughter were reported to have taken seats away from each other. "We just said hello to each other. It's impossible to talk with all the media around," Mrs. Aquino said.
In a brief address to family friends and relatives after the mass, she said: "I constantly tell Kris, "Look for somebody who would bring out the best in you and you in him."
The Aquino clan has openly disagreed with Kris' love affairs. But she has confidently expressed her family would not abandon her, despite her illicit relationships.
"In fairness, I know my mom still loves me. She'll always be my mom, come what may," she said. "Whatever problems we have in the family, or problems the public perceive them to be, I just hope you'll give us a chance to be a family,"
The soap opera life of the Aquino daughter, who also has a son by a past relationship with another married movie actor — Philip Salvador — has riveted the mainly Roman Catholic nation. Her mother, a devout Catholic, was president between 1986 and 1992. (With reports from agencies)
