Tulfo brod denies threatening Claudine, Raymart

MANILA, Philippines - Broadcaster Erwin Tulfo has denied the grave threats charges filed against him by celebrity couple Raymart Santiago and Claudine Barretto.

In an eight-page counter-affidavit filed by his counsel Nelson Borja before the Quezon City Metropolitan Trial Court Branch 38, Tulfo said the charges filed against him were “baseless, malicious and mere product of wild imagination.”

The case stemmed from a complaint filed by the couple against brothers Erwin, Ben, and Raffy over alleged threatening remarks they uttered on their television program T3 on May 7, 2012.

The statements were made a day after the couple figured in an alternation with Tulfos’ elder brother, Ramon, at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

Earlier, Assistant Prosecutor Rowena Balagtas found probable cause to file two counts of grave threats against Erwin and Raffy and one count for Ben for uttering threats that “alluded the infliction of physical harm upon complainant spouses.”

In his counter-affidavit, Erwin said Balagtas failed to correctly interpret the statements that he and his brothers uttered in their television show.

“The alleged threatening remarks adopted by... Balagtas in the filing of the (cases) were merely confined to her biased conclusion and did not reflect the correct interpretations in their entirety,” he said.

Erwin said Balagtas omitted some of his remarks that “would probably downgrade to a lesser or different offense, if not an outright dismissal of the charges” filed against them.

He said his statements were a “natural reaction and expression of personal opinion as a result of the mauling incident” involving the couple and his older brother.

Erwin said the charges against them are intended to serve as leverage in the charges of serious physical injuries, grave coercion and grave oral defamation Ramon filed against the couple.

Borja earlier asked the court to order the reinvestigation of the case as they were not aware of the schedule of the preliminary investigation hearings.

Judge Nadine Jessica Corazon Fama, however, denied the motion and instead ordered the Tulfos to submit their counter-affidavits.