‘My hero’: Ricardo Cepeda shares how Marina Benipayo supported him during detention

Ricardo Cepeda lovingly described Marina Benipayo as “my hero” for holding the family together and keeping the faith during his 11-month detention.

In a recent media interview, he shared that Marina regularly visited him at the Cagayan Provincial Jail in Tuguegarao, where he had been held following a syndicated estafa complaint filed against him and 11 others in October 2023. Only Ricardo and one other individual were reportedly arrested.

He has maintained his innocence, asserting in interviews that he had no connection to the company involved and was merely an endorser of its products. After 11 months in a jail facility (first two months in Quezon City, then the rest in Cagayan), he was released on bail on Sept. 20. According to a GMA report, a hearing for the continuation of his case has yet to be scheduled.

“Hero ko din siya,” Marina also said of the veteran actor, adding that what helped them get through the ordeal was the “constant communication and constant na pag-punta ko dun.”

Ricardo shared, “My kids wanted to go but I said, sayang ang pera. We can talk naman pa ‘pag may FaceTime, but I’ll be thinking of yung gastos niyo kasi bugbog dun sa travel (expenses).”

When asked what made his other half his personal hero, Ricardo explained, “My biggest worry, which I share with many others who are detained, is the family. (I said) I’m already here, I can handle it. I’ll endure whatever happens in jail because there’s nothing else I can do but face it.

“But my concern was, what’s happening with my family? Even though my kids are grown, we still help them from time to time, financially. Then emotionally, there are people commenting like, ‘If he wasn’t guilty, he wouldn’t have been arrested.’ My kids have to deal with that. I said, ‘I don’t want them to go into depression.’

“She’s the one who kept the family together. Sabi pala niya sa kanila, we will help each other. Last Saturday (Sept. 21), first time ko makita sila lahat — the kids — umiyak ako (I cried). Because they told me how they held (each other) together.”

He recalled that in jail, he managed to communicate with his kids through its call center. Despite limited privacy with the guard around, they were allowed to use a tablet for video-calling.

“Sabi ng mga anak ko, ‘Dad, it’s because of your strength. Nakita namin parang kayang kaya mo, so kami rin dapat eh.’ But I said, I saw your strength and what made me strong was that… I know my family is not suffering. I know it’s hard but they look like they’re doing well.

“Ayun pala pareho kami one on the other. (Marina had) told them, ‘Do not despair, do not give in to sadness because your father will come out and alam natin wala siyang kasalanan. He will come out, it will just gonna take time.’

“That’s what was keeping me (strong) inside also. (I thought) I don’t know how long I’m going to be here, there’s nothing I can do about it, nasa process ng court. Every day, I can be sad, crying, angry, bakit ganito, but the next thing you know, na-stroke na pala ako. So, I went the other way. (I told myself) the only thing that I can control here is my attitude.”

As for Marina, she said, “Even as a mom, kelangan lagi kang andun and you have to be strong. And thank God, we also have a sense of humor. Laki ng nagawa ng tawa sa amin. Tawa nalang kami. It came to a point na natapos na kami sa lungkot, sa regret, sa whatever, sa blame… we just try to enjoy each other’s company while we can.”

Asked how their relationship changed after everything that happened, Marina said nothing because “we both came from very challenging lives.”

“So by the time we met, we were both in our 40s already… Even before this happened, we were pretty solid na talaga. Kung may nagtatanong nga, ang gwapo ng asawa mo, sasabihin ko, pumila ka (laughs). It’s pretty solid na talaga. I guess, ayun, mas malakas.”

One thing is certain, she said, “I will always support him. Kasi ako, I’m OK. And when you’re OK, you can give your full support to your spouse. Siya lang talaga yung puso ko. Also the same reason kung bakit punta ng punta ako dun.”

Ricardo had an amusing story to share about how the detainees had taken a liking to Marina. “Yung mga female detainees dun — malapit yung cell namin sa kanila pero may harang — parang mas mahal siya. Nung paalis, ‘Ma’am, pwede pa-hug?’ Dinumog siya,” he recalled.

“Sabi ko, ‘Bakit feeling ko ako yung nakalaya?’” Marina quipped. “But habang nandoon siya, sabi ko nga, we have to make sure that kahit papaano productive pa rin.”

Ricardo bared that during Marina’s visits to the Cagayan Provincial Jail, she had given out workshops.

“There’s a reason kung bakit ikaw napunta dito na other than what happened, you will never, or kahit ako, never pupunta doon to see the lives of the detainees dun or how they live there,” Marina reflected.

“So as much as we could, we at least gave part of us dun sa mga detainees. Kasi sabi ko, kung hindi nangyari ito, hindi nila ma-e-experience what we can offer them na knowledge or, you know, kahit yung tsinelas. So we really made the most out our time there.”

Asked about their plans after what they experienced as a family, “Magka-baby!” Marina joked.

Turning more serious though, she said, “After this, (yung plan niya is) makapag-work agad siya… Maybe vacation because we never had a vacation in the 11 years (that we’ve been together). Never. We’re celebrating 12 years in November but never kami nag-vacation na kaming dalawa lang because we’re both workaholics,” she said.

“To make the most of the time (that’s the plan),” added Ricardo. “If we have the chance to go on vacation, gawin natin.”

For sure, it will be an extra meaningful celebration for 12 years of togetherness in November.

Ricardo, who is turning 60 this October, said he will never get tired of sharing how he first met Marina way back in 1985. He was a gym instructor, model and working student at UP when he first spotted Marina, then a student from Maryknoll, at a favorite karenderia across the street.

One lunch time, he saw from across the gym a tall and svelte young woman alighting from a tricycle. “Ang tangkad, sabi ko wow! Pero parang cute. Sabi ko, ‘Guys (at the gym), magtatanong lang ako ano yung ulam.’ So, I got to know her there. Of course, we got introduced and I thought, how could I impress her? I asked her about her height, ‘Are you a model?’ She said no, I’m not interested. I said, sayang kasi model ako — o ‘di ba nasingit ko — bagay na bagay ka. ‘No, no, bahala na.’

“Then, I had nothing else to say so I went inside. I didn’t see her, then the next thing I knew, she won Model of the World, Body Shots,” he said of the ‘90s top fashion model and former beauty queen.

They would occasionally see each other in the modeling world but there never was an inkling that they would be romantically involved, not even an idea of a possible courtship, in the future. They were the “hi, hello, bye” type of friends. Then they had families and kids. But 25 years later after that first meeting, they would reconnect via the ABS-CBN teleserye “My Binondo Girl.”

“During ‘My Binondo Girl,’ we got to know each other better na uy, pareho pala tayo, similar yung story natin, pareho pala tayong sira-ulo (and) yung humor natin (is the same),” the actor recalled.

When Ricardo was finally released from jail, Marina was the one who brought him home.

"I'm very thankful for friends and people who know me, who have stood up for me, and even strangers who just know me by reputation, social media, or from watching my career. Just yesterday, so many people stopped me, saying, 'Congratulations, we were praying for you,' and I had never met them. That's my source of strength and gratitude," said Ricardo, who did a sweet, little celebratory dance with Marina, which they happily shared on social media. 'We're just thankful to be out, and (I said) let’s show it.“