Feud Between Siblings Lotlot and Ian De Leon Worsens

THE SIBLING’S battle is getting out-of-hand between Lotlot and Ian de Leon, two of the children of the late National Artist for Film and Broadcast Arts Nora Aunor, over inheritance issues and organization of the Nora Aunor Foundation.

After action director Vic Tiro, who shoots the vlogs of Lotlot, advised this writer that the actress doesn’t want to talk about her conflict with her brother on cam, it was she who finally broke her silence over the issue during the press con for the film “40 Days” which she stars together with Dina Bonnevie, Perla Bautista et al under Louie Ignacio’s direction.

Before it was only Lotlot’s lawyer Mark Julius Estur who issued a written statement about her client’s disinterest in the inheritance from the estate of Nora, Nora Villamayor in real life, and that she wasn’t even consulted when Ian allegedly formed a One-Person Corporation (OPC), but now, the de Leon lady herself has spoken.

“Tanggap namin kung anong meron si Mommy, kay Ian ‘yan. Walang nanghihingi n’yan. Walang nang-aagaw. Ang sinabi ko kay Ian, if you are willing to share the properties of Mommy with us, maraming salamat. Kung hindi, walang problema. At tinanong ko ‘yan (We understand it, we accept it that what Mommy had, they are all Ian’s. No one will beg. No one will take them away from him. What I told Ian was…thank you. If not, no problem. I asked it) without Matet, Kiko and Kenneth knowing it. I just wanted to know if he would for the sake of the three.

“Kasi, ako, kaya ko, e. Buong buhay ko naman, kinaya ko. Dumating ang punto sa buhay ko, wala akong pera. Wala akong panggas. Pinuputulan ako ng Meralco, ng tubig. Wala namang tumutulong sa akin (Because I could bear it. All of my life, I bear anything. There was a point in my life that I didn’t have a single penny. I didn’t have money for gassing up. Meralco was cutting off my power, the water was closing the gate valve. No one was lending me a hand),” she said, her voice trembling.

“Pero kahit minsan, hindi ko inistorbo ang mga magulang ko, kahit mga anak ko. Pero kinaya ko. Tumayo ako. Nagsipag ako sa tulong ng asawa ko. Kaming dalawa. Tamaan ako ng kidlat ngayon, kung meron akong naagrabyadong tao (Not even once that I asked help from my parents even from my kids. But I did it. I stood my ground. I strove for it with the help of my husband—Lebanese Fadi Al Soury. It was only the two of us. Lightning might strike me now but I didn’t take advantage of anyone).   

“Ngayon, kung ibabato sa amin ‘yong mana, kay Ian na ‘yan (Now, if they would accuse us of chasing after the inheritance, it’s already Ian’s).

“Pagdating naman do’n sa foundation, tinanong ko siya, sabi ko, ‘are you willing to do the foundation with us?’ Sabi ko, magtayo tayo para kay Mommy to continue her legacy. Anong sinabi niya, ‘I’m not ready. Wala kong ilalabas na pera.’ At lahat ng usapan namin ni Ian, nasa text ‘yan. May kopya ako (About the Nora Aunor Foundation, I asked him…I told him, let’s put it up for Mom. What did he say…I don’t have money to spend on it. My text conversations with Ian are all stored).   

“Sabi niya, ‘hindi ko pa kaya ngayon.’ Sabi ko, ‘okey.’ Nirerespeto ko ‘yan  (He said, ‘I can’t do it right now.’ I told him, ‘okay.’ I’ll respect you for that’).

“Hanggat sa nagkaroon ulit kami ng conversation because Matet, Kiko and Kenneth, said, ‘Ate, naiintindihan namin ang gusto mong gawin, sige, magtayo na tayo.’ Sabi ko, ‘hindi pupuwedeng itayo ito nang hindi tayo kumpleto (Until we had another conversation because Matet, Kiko and Kenneth said, ‘Older Sister, we understand what you want, let’s go, let’s form the Foundation. I told them, ‘we cannot formalize the foundation until we are complete’).

“Kinausap ko ulit si Ian. Sabi niya, hindi, kuha ‘yan, two weeks. Gawin n’yo, susuportahan ko ‘yan. Sabi niya sa akin, ‘pag ready na ba ako, pwede akong sumali?’ Sabi ko, ‘oo,’ ‘yan. Atin ‘to for the legacy of Mommy. Ano bang legacy? Ang legacy ni  Mommy, pagtulong sa kapwa, hindi ba? ‘Yon lang naman ang gusto kong ituloy. Hindi para pagkakitaan ng kahit ano. In fact, ako pa nga ang maglalabas, ako ang maghihirap para maghanap ng pera para magkaroon ng foundation. When I finally was able to put up a foundation, anong ginawa niya? Nagpunta sa Facebook. Ang sinabi niya, ‘hindi ko alam ang foundation na itinayo. Hindi ko pinapayagan ang kahit sino na magtayo ng foundation. Hindi ako nagpapahayag na kahit na sino na magbigay ng pera sa foundation nila (I talked to Ian again. He said, ‘you can make it in two weeks’ time. Go for it and I will support you.’ Then he said, ‘if I am ready with it, can I join you?’ I replied, ‘yes,’ that’s that. This is ours and this is for the legacy of Mom. What legacy is this? Mom’s legacy is to help others, right? That is the only thing that I want to do. It’s not to earn anything from it. As a matter of fact, I would be the one to fork out money and go through the hard work of looking for funds in order to put up the Foundation…What did he do? He went to social media. What he posted was ‘I am not aware of the Foundation that was formed. I don’t allow anyone to put up a foundation. I don’t let anyone donate money to their foundation).

“Doon ako nasaktan. Bakit? Kasi, alam niya. Alam niya lahat…alam niya lahat. Ang hindi ko maintindihan, bakit puro kasinungalingan ang lumalabas sa bibig mo, Ian. Bakit? Sinabi niya kanina sa ‘Fast Talk,’ sinabi daw niya sa akin, kay Matet, kay Kiko, kay Kenneth na magtatayo siya ng One-Person Corporation enterprise. He never told us…He never told us or shared us anything at all. Wala siyang filler. Wala siyang sinabi. Wala siyang ikinuwento (That’s what hurts me. Why? Because he knew…(Pause)…He knew everything…(Pause)…he knows everything. I can’t understand what comes out from your mouth, Ian, are all lies. Why? You announced in ‘Fast Talk’ a while ago, that he told me, Matet, Kiko and Kenneth that he would put up an OPC…He had no fillers at all. He said nothing. He told us nothing).  

“Hinahayaan na nga namin. Ako, tahimik na ako (We just let him be. I am not talking anymore but) I will not allow anyone to put Matet down, to put Kiko down, to put Ken down and to utter all these lies because it’s not true.   

“Ikakayaman ko ba ang pagsisinungaling? Ikakayaman ko ba ang pang-iisa ng kapwa? Ang kaba ng Panginoon. Diyos ko, matakot tayo, sa totoo lang (Will I get rich by lying? Will I get rich by taking advantage of others? We should fear the wrath of the Lord. Oh, God, let’s fear Him, for that is true).

“Pero hindi na ako papayag…(Pause)…Enough…(Pause)…Enough with the lies…(Pause)…Enough with all of that. Tahimik ako, tahimik na si Matet, sina Kiko at Kenneth. Wala na kaming sinasabi (We are all quiet now. We don’t say anything anymore).

“And then he goes out on TV and then he tells everyone na sinabi mo sa akin (that he told me that) which is not true. Pinadaan ko na nga sa abugado ko, e, para hindi na ako magsalita noon pa man (That’s why I let the lawyer does the legal matters so that I wouldn’t be talking even then except this one),” exclaimed Lotlot, an adopted daughter of Superstar Nora.

Meanwhile, before Lotlot bared her soul, Ian had warned her. “Enough with the lies? You stop. You stop telling lies especially to my dad,” he posted in Facebook Page IDL Arts and Paintings.

The actor reiterated that he told Lotlot he was not ready for the foundation because he wanted to fix the legalities first.

Ian explained the reason behind on his Facebook post. “That time I said I’m not ready to commit dahil gusto kong ayusin muna nila yung legal papers nyan (because I want them to fix the legal papers). I know the plans and my suggestion to them is to fix the legalities first before launching it. Days and days after launching I was monitoring their SEC registration but it’s still not yet up. The staff of a significant figure even informed us that they donated and may nilapitan pa silang isang malaking tao (they approached an important person) also the office informed us but they hesitated to donate, which made me post a statement to protect my family in case of any legal problems.”

            Ian also felt he was put in a difficult situation about being part of the foundation. He wrote in his social media spaces: “Gusto nyo akong i- (You want to) entrap during one event to sign something without telling right away what our dinner is all about that’s why pala you have your lawyers with you. Thankfully, this person asked us for a dinner that I can’t decline.”

The de Leon guy disputed the claim that he did not inform his siblings of his plans so he posted a screenshot of a Zoom meeting to support his statement.

Meanwhile, here’s Ian’s reactions about Lotlot’s revelations during the “40 Days” presscon.

“He never told us anything? So wala na yung Zoom meeting ng dalawang beses sila umattend? Wala na din yung during 40 days na nagdecline ka? At sinungaling din ba si Tita T. na tinawagan ka to join us pero sabi mo no na kase may work ka pa naman at inuna kase akong kausapin? (…the two Zoom meetings that they attended did not happen?  The 40 days observance for the dead that you declined didn’t happen as well? And Tita T. was a liar who called you to join us but you declined and said you had work and it was me who was first talked to?)  Why? Is it because it was me? Why,” asked Ian.

He clarified as well that he guested on “Fast Talk with Boy Abunda” in GMA Network for the Father’s Day celebration and that he didn’t say anything derogatory against his siblings.

In the interview, he emphasized he was the legal heir of Nora and he didn’t intend to treat his siblings unfairly.

The actor also didn’t accuse anyone of claiming inheritance and his only hope is a reconciliation in the family.

“Sa akin na lahat (Everything falls on me?) After the state funeral when five of us are talking. I was clear, that told you guys na tulong-tulong tayong lima dito at maging transparent sa isa’t isa (that the five of us will cooperate and be transparent with each other) and everything will take time and everything will be divided equally. Pero ang palabas is madamot ako (But what is being insinuated is that I am selfish?) Why? Sino ang may inaagaw (Who is taking away something from whom?) I didn’t say na may inaagaw kayo (…that you are taking away something from someone). Why say that? To put me down,” he said.

“Who put down the siblings? Did you even watch the whole show before reacting? Kayo lang ba pwede magpa-(Are you the only one who has the right to get interviewed?) I don’t go out just like that. It’s for the Father’s Day episode. Tinuring mo kong kapatid? Tinuring din kitang parang totoong kapatid (Did you treat me as brother? I treated you as a biological sister)! And I still call you Ate.” he qualified.