Kapamilya actress Janella Salvador has decided to finally speak up about the physical abuse that she has experienced from her on-screen partner and rumored boyfriend Elmo Magalona.
“I decided to speak up now because I want to stop the lies,” Salvador said in an interview with Ricky Lo’s Funfare for The Philippine Star, explaining that the “other camp” were posting things on social media against her.
Salvador said that she experienced physical abuse from Magalona twice whenever the latter would get heavily intoxicated.
The 20-year-old actress said that she let bygones be bygones after the first incident.
“The first time happened months earlier. He claimed that he didn’t remember what he did, maybe because he had a drink, and he asked for forgiveness, and I gave him a chance.
“I told him, ‘Next time, don’t bring yourself to the point that you will hurt someone.’ He promised naman that he wouldn’t do it again,” Salvador said.
However, she said that she has had enough when Magalona hurt her once again during a party which was hosted by one of her friends.
According to PEP.ph, the party that Salvador was referring to was held at a bar in Taguig City last September 8.
After these incidents, Salvador said that she has started seeing her psychiatrist once again, though her reasons for seeking professional help are “nothing mental”.
She added that Magalona has been doing the same thing. “I know that Elmo has also been seeing a psychiatrist. He’ s seeking professional help. I support him on that. It’s good that he recognized the problem and he’s addressing it,” she said.
She also clarified that her intention in breaking her silence about the incidents is not to seek revenge. Rather, it is because Magalona did not keep his promise that he will admit his mistakes and ask forgiveness.
Salvador added that she became a target of victim shaming as many netizens blamed her for the incidents.
“My purpose in speaking now is not to shame him or to put him down; I just want to correct the lies being spread against me and my mom, and to let the truth out.
“I thought long and hard before I decided to speak up and own up to what he did but it seems somebody is stopping him from doing it.
“For two years, I focused on Elmo and myself. This time, I am giving more attention to myself.
“He hurt me and I cannot, can never tolerate that,” she said.
Salvador said that good things have come out of the unfortunate incident as what happened helped her rekindle her relationship with her mother.
“We are fixing things. We are talking.
“I may not agree with the extreme way she expresses her feelings but I realized that her intentions are good.
“At the end of the day, I know now that my mom is there for me,” she said.
Salvador and Magalona are set to appear together for a series of shows in Calgary, Vancouver, and Toronto this coming November.
It is believed that those shows will be their last projects together since it seems like Salvador wouldn’t want to work with Magalona again after speaking up.
