PEP: Cheska won't invite Jennylyn to wedding

Cheska Garcia, who is a few months away from her wedding day, is brimming with excitement. During the birthday party of Ruffa Gutierrez—held at the Blue Leaf Events Place in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig, last June 21—she revealed to PEP (Philippine Entertainment Portal) that she can’t wait to marry cager Douglas Kramer. She’s on cloud nine, discussing her wedding plans for October 9 this year. But in the course of the conversation, Cheska brought up one topic that has been unsettling her family for four months now: The issues confronting Patrick Garcia. “My brother is a good guy," Cheska said. “We were brought up with breeding, with class. You know, it’s not even class…I mean, each person can have class that they claim to have, but you know what, we are not like that." She continued, “My brother decided to be a businessman, is that gonna break him? We don’t have to blame ourselves. Pero alam mo, take it as it is. Pero kami, hindi kami maintriga. My brother is quiet." The Us Girls host was obviously disconcerted about what happened to her younger bro. Last June 15, the 26-year old actor left for the States to pursue his studies and get away from all the “intrigues" surrounding him here. And most of these intrigues have something to do with the mother of his first baby, Jennylyn Mercado. Cheska told PEP, “My brother is in the US and then, you know what, I’m very proud of my brother, because no matter how many times he’s been trampled on, stepped on, he’s never spoken anything [bad] about anybody." A LOOKBACK. The hubbub has been going on for four months now, but what exactly caused it? Jen and Patrick used to be so in love. They even contemplated having a civil wedding. But right after the “pregnancy" news erupted, things began turning sour. Why? In the April 2008 issue of YES! magazine, the co-star of Yasmien Kurdi and JC De Vera in Babangon Ako’t Dudurugin Ka put the blame on the incessant media attention. While Patrick admitted that he and Jen would have small fights, he just couldn’t get why instead of fixing things among themselves, his ex-girlfriend would announce them on national TV. He said, “If ever we’re going to fight, and she’s going to leak it out to people, especially if the story is not true—kumbaga, she’s just pushing me away." For her part, Jen said in the same interview with YES! magazine, “Wala kaming communication, hindi kami nagkikita, almost two months na. Ako pa nga nag-e-effort, e, na dapat siya ang gumagawa, di ba? Ako ‘yong gumagawa—calling him, going to his place, talking to him. But he doesn’t want to talk." They parted ways last February 20. Patrick chose to keep mum, and eventually, he left Manila. But the negative publicity continued to hound him. Fans of Jennylyn accused him of being a “mama’s boy" and “unfit" to be the dad of the baby, and most recently, “irresponsible." Patrick’s mom and his sister, who had always come to his defense, were called “kunsintidor." On the other hand, the brouhaha also took its toll on Jennylyn. Some showbiz fans called her “drama queen," and worst, “publicity-greedy." AT PRESENT. Through this all, Cheska saw how her brother calmly took every attack that came his way. She narrated, “My brother, he’s so steady. Kung ginawa nila sa cousin mo, sa kapatid mo…Dude, my brother is so steady. Gawin mo ‘yan sa ibang tao, okay lang? Gawin mo ‘yan sa kapatid mo, okay lang? "Honestly, when she announced it [pregnancy], I was the first person to find out about it. I was the first one. I told Jen, ‘Jen, don’t hesitate to call up my mom.’ My mom will know what to do. You know why? Coz my mom is not ‘yong baliw na mom para magpa-panic. My mom is steady, eh." At this point, it is apparent that Cheska is tired of the ruckus and just wants it to stop. She said, “Everything is so superficial in this world. But you know what, we don’t care about that. Take us [as] we are. She wants to say things about my brother, say things about my brother. But you know, when I talk to you, I am this way. My brother is the way he is. I’m no different from my brother. I’m easy to talk to. She wants to say something about my brother, go ahead. Pero mabait [ang] kapatid ko. Hindi ‘yan ganyan. Hindi kami pinalaking ganyan. “Magulang namin pinalaki kaming may breeding kami period. We don’t have to prove it, we don’t have to stress the point. If you meet us with breeding, then we are with breeding. We don’t have to try on who we are. No! That’s not the way it is. We don’t have to say that I’m this way and I’m that way. I don’t have to try so hard. Patrick didn’t try so hard." And she may not have enunciated it, but she wants the mom of her first pamangkin to stop as well. Cheska said, “She knows she was with my brother for one year and six months. She knows how our own family is. We’re not matapobre. We are never the matapobre. If we are, from the beginning of their relationship, we should have gone against it... “We came from a good school, but we don’t look down on people. It is not the way it is. A lot of politicians and lot of businessmen who are successful right now don’t come from a good family. But they are who they are because they make the way that they are. They know what their work is. I don’t have to say bad things about Jen." Is she going to invite Jennylyn to her wedding? “No," was her quick answer. “Would you invite a person who stepped on your brother a million times? No! No! Why should I?" PEP saw Cheska’s different moods that night: excited and happy as a bride, upfront and upset about the issues, and most of all, protective as an ate. Her parting shot, “We were born into keeping everything intact….We don’t have to prove to them, ‘Hey we’re like this, we’re like that.’ Wala kaming pakialam dun, we don’t care!" At press time, PEP is trying to get Jennylyn’s reaction. - Philippine Entertainment Portal