Julia has always been known as a Barretto since she joined showbiz as a child star. By that time, her parents have already broken up. But her legal name is still Baldivia, Dennis real surname. Now, she wants to change that. Her mom, Marjorie Barretto, says they cannot use Baldivia because she’s not legally married to Dennis, as it turns out that Dennis is still officially married to his first wife, with whom he also has kids.
According to the new family code, illegitimate kids should use their mother’s maiden name. But internet reactions say Julia should not dump her dad as, whatever happens, she owes her life to him. Some folks are calling her an ungrateful daughter. But Marjorie says Dennis never sent financial support for any of their three kids and she’s been raising them all by herself. Dennis himself now has another new wife, his third.
How messy, isn’t it? Talk about having a peaceful family life. Like a character in the late Eddie Romero’s film about infidelity, “Sinong Kasiping Sinong Kapiling”, says: “Tayo rin naman ang nagpapagulo sa buhay natin.” But it’s the innocent children who get badly affected and grow up carrying heavy emotional baggage because of their dysfunctional family.