‘Nananahimik kami’: Dennis Trillo reacts to Gelli de Belen’s remark on Patrick-Jennylyn issue

MANILA, Philippines – Dennis Trillo continued to defend his wife Jennylyn Mercado amid the maelstrom that ensued after Patrick Garcia’s tell-all interview on his breakup with the then-pregnant actress almost two decades ago. 

Dennis has been consistently asking the public for a stop to bashing, but he does not shy away from coming to the defense of his wife. 

The actor again stood up for Jennylyn after actress Gelli de Belen shared her two cents’ worth on the issue. The TV host's reaction arose after Patrick claimed he did not abandon Jennylyn while she was pregnant with their child, Alex Jazz, in 2008. The actor said he was not present because Jennylyn did not want him there. 

Patrick spoke about his ill-fated romance with the Jennylyn in an interview with Ogie Diaz published on the latter’s YouTube channel on September 29. 

A few days after the interview was released, Gelli was asked by “Chika Cart” co-hosts Jeff Fernando, Baninay and Donita Nose for her thoughts on Patrick's interview.

Gelli said the issue should not have been blown out of propotion since it was brought up. She said Patrick only came public for 13-year-old daughter who is being bashed for his past mistakes. Gelli said she was most concerned about the children who are getting dragged into the controversy, particularly Patrick’s daughter and his son with Jennylyn, Alex Jazz. 

“Hindi kailangang maging ganito kalaki kasi the reason why this was brought up was because nasasaktan yung anak ni Patrick," Gelli said.

“Sana wag nating kalimutan na may mga batang pinag-uusap at yun naman sila talaga ang pinakaimportante dahil yung mga magulang, mga nakatatanda, nakapag-move on na sila sa mga buhay nila. So sana let’s show the young ones what is right, what should be done, and not show them all this bad stuff,” she added.

The actress said she could not question Patrick’s intent. After all, he only tried to shield his daughter from critics. She does not take sides, she said, but will stand up for all the children who are being dragged into the mess. 

"Ang kampi ako, ang mga bata [Jazz and Michelle]. I just want to reiterate na everything I said is out of concern for the children, because the parents are okay, they're fine, they're thriving. The kids, they have to deal with this.

"Whatever is coming out, kung ano man ang sinasabi ng mga tao sa kanila... ‘yung mga bata ang magdadala niyan. ‘Yun ang hindi okay. At least ‘yung mga magulang, they can handle things, they know they've been through it. Happy na sila with their significant other, okay na sila. ‘Yung mga bata ang kawawa. Let's try to be kind,” the actress said. 

Dennis saw the quote cards published on the show’s Instagram page and tagged the actress. 

“@gellidebelen Nananahimik kami… lahat yan ay natural na reaksyon ng matinong TAO! Pasalamat kayo, dinaan ko na lang sa ganyan. Oo kawawa talaga ang mga bata, may mga anak din kami! Sisihin mo ‘yung nagsimula ng gulo!” Dennis wrote as a reply on the quote card. 

His comment is now not seen on the page but screenshots of it have circulated online. 

The newly premiered show on GTV issued a statement on Sunday.

“We understand that the recent discussion on ‘Chika Cart’ has drawn different reactions online," the statement read. 

“The views shared during the conversation were personal opinions expressed as part of an open discussion. ‘Chika Cart’ does not intend to take sides or disrespect anyone involved. Let’s keep the conversation respectful and choose kindness, especially when families are involved,” it added.

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