NEWSFLASH

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ROMMEL SUICIDE ATTEMPT: INCEST HINTED?

Manila, Oct. 9, 1998 - The sensitive and controversial issue of actor Rommel Padilla's relationship with his half-sister Rebecca Padilla has finally landed in the papers, beyond the showbiz gossip columns.

The actor, who is serving sentence in the New Bilibid Prisons, allegedly tried to kill himself by slashing his wrist after a bitter quarrel with his mother, Mrs. Eva Carino-Padilla, who came with his half-sister Rebecca.

The Philippine Inquirer, in a back page story, reporting today on Rommel's Monday suicide attempt, noted that "Rommel and Rebecca, who have a common father, have long been rumored to be lovers. Mrs. Padilla reportedly disapproves of the relationship."

Prison officials at the maximum security compound, where Rommel is detained, said he used a concealed bladed weapon to cut his wrist. The actor was pronounced out of danger by prison doctors yesterday.

The Rebecca-Rommel "relationship" had been the subject of numerous blind items in newspaper columns over the past months. Though the actor and his half-sister had not been named in those blind items, the clues and hints had clearly pointed at their true identities.