Mary Christine Jolly Ramsay, the estranged wife of actor Derek Ramsay, has spoken up about the complaint she filed in June, in which she accused her husband of violating Republic Act No. 9262, the Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act.
Speaking to reporters, the former commercial model said on Friday that she filed the complaint with of the Makati City prosecutor’s to pressure Derek to live up to his obligations towards the support of their 11-year-old son, Austin Gabriel.
Derek in turn filed a counter affidavit last week, contesting the assertions made against him. He said that the only valid portions of Christine’s complaint were the facts indicating they were married in 2002 and that they have a son.
He added that he did not want to speak negatively of the mother of his child, which is why he has chosen not to hold a press conference regarding the issue.
“The court will play this out. That’s why I’m not holding any press con,” he said.
“There’s something deep inside me that wants to [talk] and just blurt things out so that everyone knows the truth. But I care about my son. And I don’t want my son to hear his father talk bad about his mother,” the actor shared.
“Whatever she throws at me, I’m going to have to respond to it. And we’ll do that in court,” he stressed further.
Meanwhile, Derek’s legal counsel, Joji Antonio raised the pertinent question, which is central to the validity of Christine’s complaint:“The question remains unanswered. What in the world will an 11-year-old kid do with P45 million, which the complainant wants in lump sum?
“We shall respond to the complainant’s latest claims in Derek’s rejoinder-affidavit,” Antonio stated.
In a press conference which the 36-year-old complainant held at the New World Hotel in Makati, Christine said: “This fight is not about me. It is about my child abandoned by a negligent father for so many years.”
She added that Ramsay had only paid four visits to their son since they went their separate ways, and allegedly only because she “threatened to sue him.”
She also claimed that her complaint is rooted in Derek’s refusal support their child despite her constant efforts to contact him, which is tantamount to “psychological violence” against the child, who resides with her in her home country of Dubai.
“There comes a point when enough is enough and I think I have come to that point. My son is growing up and he is asking too many questions,” Christine said, with regard to breaking her silence on the matter.