MANILA – Daniel Padilla’s mother recently revealed that the young heartthrob knows who is responsible for recording and leaking the controversial audio clip that quickly went viral; thereby marking the first “scandal” of his career.
Karla Estrada, Padilla’s mom, said in a live interview on “Aquino & Abunda Tonight” on Friday that the culprit behind the incident has been her son’s acquaintance for the last five years.
“Nakakatakot. Imagine, pinasok ka sa bahay mo ng gano’n. Hindi ito close friend, pero kaibigan niya ‘to [nang matagal na]. He’s older than DJ (Padilla) (It’s frightening. Imagine, someone invaded your home in that manner. This person is not a close friend, but he has been a friend for some time now),” Estrada expressed
The 90-second audio clip uploaded on September 18 fueled rumours about Padilla having a relationship with actress Jasmine Curtis-Smith. Padilla is largely thought to be romantically involved with singer- actress Kaythrn Bernardo.
Estrada revealed that her son has opted not to confront the person responsible for making and circulating the clip.
“Si DJ, hindi siya gano’n, kasi nasasaktan siya. Hindi niya kayang harapin. Ako, hindi ko na kinonfront, kasi baka maging octopus ako (DJ is not like that, because he was hurt. He cannot bear to face the person. I, on the other hand, did not confront him as I might turn into an octopus), Padilla’s mother explained.”
When asked about how they found out who the culprit was, Estrada pointed out that Padilla’s other friends confirmed their suspicions.
“Tinanong ko ‘yung isang kaibigan na nandodoon na kasama nila sa pag-uusap. Siya ang tinuturo ng lahat kasi siya lang ang may hawak ng cellphone habang nag-uusap sila (I asked one of his friends who was there during the incident. The friend and everyone else all pointed to the same person because that particular person was the only one holding a cellphone during the conversation),” she said.
However, the suspect denied having purposefully uploaded the audio clip.
“Sabi ko, ‘Ano’ng motibo niya?’ Hindi raw nagsasabi. At dini-deny niya na ginawa niya daw ‘yon. Parang may something lang daw doon sa telefono niya na biglang nag-upload. Siyempre wala nang lusot ‘yung tao (I said “What was the person’s motive?’ They told me that the person did not say. And that the person was denying that it was done on purpose. The person said that it was a feature on the cellphone that all the sudden uploaded the clip. Of course, it’s because that person has no more alibis),” Estrada said.
Despite having a suspect, Padilla simply wants to move on from the controversy; and although she would prefer to get to the bottom of things, Estrada said she will respect her son’s request.
“Ayaw na actually palalimin pa ni DJ, ano, kasi para sa kanya, ‘Kung kailangan ko matuto sa ganitong paraan, okay ako, natuto ako. Ako, mas gusto kong palawigin ito, ano, pero kung kinatatakot ni DJ ito, rerespetuhin ko siya dito sa unang pagkakataon. Pero sa susunod, hindi ko na siya pakikinggan, (DJ does not want the problem to get any deeper. For him, ‘If I need a lesson in this manner, then it’s okay with me, I learned something.’ Me, I would rather get to the bottom of things, but if DJ is fearful about this, I will respect him for this first incident. But next time, I will not listen to him anymore),” Estrada stressed.