Andi favors joint custody of daughter with Jake

Actress Andi Eigenmann has said that she is in favor of a joint custody for her daughter Ellie with estranged boyfriend Jake Ejercito.

"I also want that joint custody for Ellie and for him to be a part of Ellie's life. Bakit kailangang idaaan pa sa paninira? Bakit kailangang isali na naman lahat ng tao? This is what ruined everything! All the publicity and misconceptions," said Eigenmann during an exclusive interview on "Tonight With Boy Abunda" on ABS-CBN.

Eigenmann, 26, was reacting to Ejercito's filing of a petition for joint custody at the San Juan Municipal Trial Court, as represented by his lawyer Ferdinand Topacio.

"Actually anytime nahihiram n'ya si Ellie. Pero feeling ko, 'yun ang theory ko na hindi n'ya masyadong nahihiram (si Ellie) as much as he wants kasi he doesn't want to talk to me," said Eigenmann, one of the stars of the Kapamilya afternoon drama "The Greatest Love."

The actress has pushed for a formal arrangement on the custody of their daughter in a previous interview for the same late-night program. Apparently, Ejercito saw the television interview and tweeted something that was not so pleasant for Eigenmann.

* Full statement

The full statement of Ejercito's camp on joint custody and visitation rights:

“We regret having to publicly comment on the case for joint custody and visitation that our client, Mr. Juan Emilio Ejercito, also known as “Jake Ejercito”, has filed against the mother of their common child, Ms. Andi Eigenmann. Since the beginning, we have chosen to keep the filing of the case as quiet as possible, without any fanfare or notice to any media organization or entertainment journalism, precisely to protect the privacy of the minor Adrianna Gabrielle Guck (“Ellie”), and to keep her away from the limelight;"

“Once a case is filed, however, the documents in court become part of the public record. Unfortunately, due to the stature of the parties as public figures, reportage of the same in media was inevitable. We were simply hoping  that the parties would keep their peace so as not to add fuel to the fire, hence the continued silence of the Ejercitos even after the case had become news. Sadly, such was not the case on the part of Ms. Eigenmann who, on at leasr two separate occasions, had commented  on the facts and issues of the case in public;"

“On behalf of the Ejercito Family, we therefore appeal to Ms. Eigenmann to henceforth refrain from making further pronouncements on the case. We also call on her to stop playing the victim card, and to cease from imputing ill motives on the part of our client in filing the case against her. Our client was compelled to file the same by his sincere concern for the welfare of Ellie, and only after all other extrajudicial efforts to secure his rights as a father were exhausted and proven futile. Mr. Jake Ejercito would not have gone to the great expense and effort of a court case if there were any other way to solve the problems between the parties;"

“If indeed Ms. Eigenmann is genuinely concerned with the adverse effect that publicity may have on Ellie, then she should not have gone to media in the first place. If she truly wants to reach out to the Ejercitos in order to settle the matter of Ellie’s custody and visitation, they she should have done so privately with Jake and not on television;"

“All things considered, we are still hopeful that an agreement will be reached by the parties in the most expeditious manner possible, for the benefit of all, especially of Ellie.” - Robert Requintina/TEMPO