PNS — RUFFA Gutierrez and Gretchen Barretto had dinner at Dusit Hotel recently. When it was time to pay, Greta gave her credit card but it was rejected repeatedly by the bank, making her blurt out: “That cannot be. We own the bank.” Ruffa had to pay the bill.
Ruffa was asked about this at her launch as the comebacking endorser of Belo Medical Group and, at first, she wouldn’t want to talk about it. “Nakakahiya nga dahil lumabas daw sa Internet and Gretchen might think I’m the one who leaked out the story. I promised her pa naman wala akong sasabihan, so I don’t know kung paano lumabas ’yan.
No problem naman for me kahit ako’ng nagbayad as ilang beses na rin naman niya kong nilibre. We’re friends, we’re family. Ang nakakaloka, bakit lumabas ’yun at detalyado pa na parang may camera yata sa upuan namin na na-record ang lahat. O baka naman may spy doon sa restaurant. So I called Gretchen to make it clear na wala akong kinalaman doon kasi we had a great time kahit nagkaroon ng konting drama. Naging masaya naman kami that night. She told me not to worry about it. Nakalagay pa raw sa Internet na sinabi kong ako rin, naputulan ng credit card when Yilmaz and I separated. At dahil nga nasama na naman ang name doon ni Yilmaz, ayun, tinawagan na naman ako at bakit nasangkot daw siya. I don’t know why lahat naman nakakarating pa sa kanya.”
So did Yilmaz really cut off her credit card? “Ay, ayoko nang magkuwento at baka tawag-tawagan na naman niya ko.”
How has it affected her friendship with Greta? “Walang nabago sa friendship namin. We have gone through a lot and I think a simple incident like that will not affect our friendship. Mabait naman talaga siya at laging nanlilibre ever since. Naku, maliit na bagay, huwag na lang palakihin ‘yan.”
Is it true she got a higher fee from Dra Vicki Belo, so she left Dr. Manny Calayan? “No, wala naman sa talent fee yan,” she says. “I have other offers na malaki rin ang bayad. It’s also not a matter of who’s the highest bidder. Pero si Mommy, siyempre excited if she has a bigger commission as my manager. With Dra. Belo, I’m really comfortable with her as I started with her 8 years ago, then mommy signed me up with Dr. Calayan four years ago, while I was still in Turkey. I really love her and that’s the reason kaya I returned to her. Also, there’s the fact na ang dami nilang branches, kahit sa Alabang, Makati, or even Quezon City near ABS, there’s a Belo clinic, so mas convenient. Also, they’re going global and that’s the direction where I’m going.”
“What’s nice with Ruffa is that she called me up then from Turkey para magpaalam and say her mom has already negotiated with someone else,” says Dra Belo. “So even if she’s no longer a Belo endorser, we have maintained our friendship. I really like her as she epitomizes the Belo beauty.”
“Like what Ruffa said, hindi lang sa pera ’yan,” says Annabelle Rama. “I got an offer yesterday from Dr. Calayan ng P10 million for Ruffa, pero mas gusto niya talaga si Dra. Belo. Isa pa, gusto niya sigurong mapalayo sa’kin. Kasi kay Calayan, lagi kami magkasama sa clinic at pinakikialaman ko siya.”
Ruffa’s first Belo billboard is a 320ft. The GA Tower billboard along EDSA was unveiled yesterday. “I represent not just one procedure, I’ll be the face of the whole clinic,” says Ruffa proudly. “I’m happy to be back with the best, but I just want to make it clear that there’s no bad blood between me and the Calayans. They also treated me well at nagpaalam naman ako sa kanila nang maayos. I just feel it’s time to move on after my contract with them expired on March 30.”