MANILA — Former actress Marjorie Barretto ended on Tuesday all speculation surrounding her relationship with former Caloocan City mayor and former congressman Enrico “Recom” Echiverri,” saying he is the father of her youngest child, whom she introduced only in 2018..

Marjorie confirmed her ties with Echiverri after the politician’s name was dragged into her controversial feud with sister Gretchen.

The older Barretto would refer to her sibling as “Marjorie Echiverri” in Instagram posts, hinting at her supposed romance with the politician.

“Recom Echiverri is the father of my youngest daughter. That’s all I have to say,” Marjorie told ABS-CBN News’ Karen Davila, when asked to clarify her relationship with him.

Marjorie was referring to 7-year-old Erich, who, until February 2018, had been absent from public photos of the Barretto clan.

When told that her revelation will draw criticism, given that Echiverri is a married man, Marjorie gestured she is well aware of that.

“Alam mo, hindi ako perfect. I’m very strong in many ways, pero sa pag-ibig talaga, mahina ako. I’m sorry, I’m not very proud of it. That is the reason why I was not announcing to the public,” she said.

Throughout her showbiz career, Marjorie had been open about her relationships; that is, prior to being involved with Echiverri. She has one daughter, Dani, with former actor Kier Legaspi, and has three — Julia, Claudia, and Leon — with comedian Dennis Padilla.

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“I wasn’t claiming to be perfect, pero ayoko nang makasakit ng ibang tao pa. Maraming masasaktan, e, kung magiging garapal ako. That’s the reason why I kept it.

“I’m sorry, I’m not perfect. Mali po talaga na I fell in love with a married man. Pero ito na po ‘yun, e,” Marjorie added.

In the same interview, where she answered Gretchen’s accusations surrounding the October 16 scuffle at their father’s wake, Marjorie also belied her sister’s claim that Echiverri “molested” Claudine, their youngest sibling.

• Marjorie breaks silence, says Gretchen had ‘nervous breakdown’ at wake

In this latest feud to divide the Barretto clan, Claudine has sided with Gretchen against Marjorie. Claudine and Gretchen, who had also been estranged for a time, reconciled in March.

According to Marjorie, Gretchen had been threatening her and Echiverri with a molestation case since March this year.

“That’s Gretchen’s favorite word. She said my father molested her when she was young, and then now she is saying that even my children, who are perfectly okay in their lives, sasabihin niya namolestiya. I don’t know what fantasy that is,” Marjorie said.

Shedding light on Claudine’s ties with Echiverri, Marjorie recalled that early this year, Claudine sought financial help from the former mayor.

“I was against it, because we were really not in good terms with Claudine. I said, ‘Delikado to associate with her.’ She’s unstable. I will not say more. But he said, ‘Pag hindi naman natin tinulungan, baka sa iba humingi ng tulong at mapahamak,’” she said.

“With a heavy heart, I let him. Tinulungan niya si Claudine. To our surprise, we never thought it was a setup. It was intended to hurt me, harm me, and destroy his person, when all along, all he really wanted to do was to help her,” Marjorie narrated.

Marjorie did not give further details on Claudine’s financial need, nor the aid Echiverri had supposedly given her.

Referring to Gretchen and Claudine’s planned “molestation” complaint, Marjorie said: “I think Mayor Echiverri is perfectly capable — he is a lawyer also — to handle that.”