If there was one thing Kris was assured of when she walked out of Marquez’s life after he allegedly poked a gun at her, it was this: her mother, former President Corazon Aquino, would take her back with open arms.
"I assured Kris that she has my full support," Mrs. Aquino told The STAR yesterday in a telephone interview.
When The STAR asked Mrs. Aquino what her prayer is for Kris, she said, "You know, when I pray, I entrust everything to God. I do not tell Him what to do."
Even if the breakup came at the expense of the family’s privacy, Mrs. Aquino is said to be at peace with her daughter’s decision to "tell all" on national television.
"In a way, Mrs. Aquino is relieved that it’s all over," the former president’s spokesman Deedee Siytangco said, referring to Kris’ turbulent relationship with Marquez, who is still legally married to actress Alma Moreno.
"The best part of it is that Kris is home," she added. "Her message to Kris really is, Whatever it is, you’ll always be my baby..."
Kris told ABS-CBN’s Korina Sanchez in a nationally televised interview that in the hours after she left Marquez, she only cried once. "There was only one moment when I cried. That was when I went into my mom’s room after I started telling her what happened. Niyakap ako ng mommy ko (My mommy embraced me) and she said, don’t worry, you’re home," she said.
Siytangco said Mrs. Aquino did not know how far Kris would go in her interview Wednesday night with Sanchez, which was again aired yesterday morning on their show "Morning Girls."
"All she told Kris before she went on air was this, ‘Tell the truth, that’s all’," Siytangco said.
Immediately after the interview, done in Mrs. Aquino’s Times street residence in West Triangle, Quezon City, the usually composed former president embraced her daughter and cried.
"I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry," Kris said in between sobs as she broke down in her mother’s arms.
During the latter part of the interview, Kris asked for forgiveness from her family, her only son Joshua, from the public and even from Marquez’s former wife Alma Moreno.
"My mom told me you can never have it all. I tried to have it all," Kris said.
Already, Mrs. Aquino is moving on. Yesterday, the former president reported for work as usual at the Cojuangco Building in Makati City. She is focused on the People Power People movement, which identifies and supports non-government organizations that help improve the lives of others.
"Her faith and her family have always sustained her in times of crisis," her assistant Margarita Juico said. "Her family is closer now than ever before."
Kris and her elder brother Tarlac Rep. Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino had differences in the past, particularly about her relationship with Marquez, and reconciled only during the 20th death anniversary of their father Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr.
When Kris lodged a complaint against Marquez at Camp Crame last Tuesday, it was Noynoy who accompanied her.
"God knows how to draw the best out of the worst of circumstances," Juico, who is a devout Catholic like Mrs. Aquino, told The STAR. — With Ann Corvera