MANILA - There was sigh of relief from former "On the Wings of Love" star Albie Casiño after news broke that Jake Ejercito is the father of Andi Eigenmann's daughter, putting an end to the longstanding rumor that hampered the early parts of his career as an actor.

"Thank you," Casiño, whom Andi alleged to be the biological father of her child back in 2011, wrote on his Instagram page.

A photo posted by Albie Casiño (@thestallion09) on Sep 23, 2016 at 2:21am PDT

His short message came after Max Eigenmann, the half-sister of Andi, claimed that a DNA test has proven that Jake is the father of her niece. "They did a test. Yeah, he [Jake] is the dad," Max told Mo Twister in an episode of the host's podcast, "Good Times with Mo."

• Is Jake Ejercito the real father of Andi's child?

Both Andi and Jake have yet to speak up on the matter.

My anak-anakan Albie is vindicated. I knew from the start what's the truth.

— Eric John Salut (@ericjohnsalut) September 23, 2016

At the height of the controversy surrounding Andi's pregnancy, the families of Casiño and the actress traded accusations -- among them that the actor allegedly beat up Andi during their relationship, and that the "The Greatest Love" star cheated on her then-boyfriend.

There were also reports about Casiño offering to undergo a DNA test to confirm his paternity, but Andi's camp declined this.

In previous interviews, Andi had said that Jake is the closest "father figure" to Ellie. "Si Jake 'yung nandiyan since the beginning and he loves my daughter like his own, and so he's the father," she said.

However, that was before Andi got into a heated exchange with the son of Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada on Twitter, and claimed that she "never" needed him for anything.