Joey: I’m sorry; Kris: I accept

All’s well that ends well, it seems, in the telenovela-like drama starring Parañaque City Mayor Joey Marquez and actress and TV host Kris Aquino.

After a week of an emotionally charged war of words with his erstwhile lover, Marquez yielded and apologized to Aquino last night, which apology she gamely accepted.

In a brief statement over GMA-7’s "Frontpage" news program, Marquez, 46, apologized to Aquino for "all his mistakes" saying he never called her a liar.

"Kris, sa lahat ng pagkakamali ko ako ay patawarin mo. Hindi kita tinawag na sinungaling, (Kris, please forgive me for all the mistakes I have made. I never called you a liar)," a somber-looking Marquez said on national television.

In accepting her former lover’s admission of guilt, Aquino, 32, said she knows it was not only Joey who made mistakes in the relationship.

"Hindi lang siya ang kailangang patawarin ko. Kungdi kailangan ko din na patawarin ang sarili ko (I should forgive him and I also need to forgive myself)," Kris said in an interview with ABS-CBN’s "TV Patrol," which went back on the air a few minutes after Marquez’s live interview was shown over rival station GMA-7.

Marquez refused to answer what prompted him to finally ask forgiveness from Kris, who had accused the mayor of womanizing and lying.

At the height of the controversy, the popular TV personality and daughter of a former president accused Marquez of infecting her with a sexually transmitted disease.

"Frontpage" reported that the Aquino and Marquez camps met Wednesday evening at a hotel in Makati City.

Marquez vowed not to say a word about the controversy that has swept the entire nation and distracted people’s minds from current national issues such as the corruption charges against First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo and President Arroyo’s political plans for the 2004 elections.

The Aquino-Marquez 18-month old love story ended on a sour note on Sept. 22 when a spat between the two degenerated into a physical struggle and culminated with Marquez allegedly cocking and poking a gun at Aquino.

Marquez earlier rejected the idea of issuing a public apology to Kris and denied any wrongdoing against her.

Aquino delayed filing administrative charges against him on Wednesday to give him more time to reconsider his decision not to make a public apology to her.

Aquino’s lawyer, Raymund Fortun said Aquino’s mother, former President Corazon Aquino, was "exercising her compassion in obtaining justice for Kris."

In finally seeking Kris’ forgiveness, the comedian-turned-politician said he only wants to have some peace in his life.

Kris for her part vowed not to speak of the controversy again.

"I will never speak of the matter again for the rest of my life," she said.

She added her family will no longer take further steps against Marquez’s misconduct.

"Wala na po kayong maririnig sa akin (You won’t hear anything from me again). I hope my decision would be respected," she said.