MANILA -- After months of speculation and unconfirmed reports, the camp of actress Ellen Adarna has finally confirmed that she has given birth.

Adarna's lawyer, Atty. Rebo Saguisag, made the announcement in light of the delays in the proceedings of a child abuse and cybercrime complaints filed against his client, before the Pasig City Prosecutor's Office.

The complainant, Myra Abo Santos, had earlier hit Adarna' supposed "play to delay" the preliminary investigation, which has so far been re-scheduled thrice due to the actress' non-appearance.

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On Monday, Saguisag explained the reason Adarna has been missing the hearings: that she had been due to give birth — the first direct confirmation of her pregnancy.

"Actually, after the [last] hearing, sinabi namin, nanganak na siya, two days after," he told reporters outside the Pasig City Regional Trial Court, as seen in a clip posted on Instagram by entertainment reporter MJ Marfori.

Adarna gave birth on June 27, Marfori wrote, citing Saguisag. That was two days after the most recent, re-scheduled date of the hearing on June 25.

The lawyer said: "Talaga namang wala kaming dahilan... Sinasabi nila, 'delay.' Maybe 'delay,' for her to be able to have a safe delivery. And in due time... Mahirap i-biyahe, e. It's a matter of days pa lang, e."

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Saguisag was referring to the earlier statement of complainant Santos, who had expressed her frustration after the date of the preliminary investigation was pushed back again.

Santos, the mother of a 17-year-old girl whose photo was uploaded by Adarna in her Instagram Stories, filed the complaints in May after the actress did not respond to the family's request for a public apology over the accusation.

The preliminary investigation into the case was originally scheduled on June 4, four days after Adarna's father, hotelier Alan Adarna, passed away. It was reset to June 11, but Adarna skipped that, too, although her boyfriend, actor John Lloyd Cruz, attended.

That led to the hearing being re-scheduled a third time to June 25.

• John Lloyd breaks silence, calls out 'fake news' about baby's baptism

Adarna's lawyer did not give further details about Adarna giving birth. Earlier, unconfirmed reports, however, claim the baby is a boy and has been baptized.

Cruz, the reported father of the child, referred to that report as "fake news," although it was unclear which detail he was pertaining to.

He made the statement on July 2, a full week after the date Adarna gave birth, according to her lawyer.