NEWSFLASH

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RUFFA SUES, BLAMES STAFF FOR FOUNDATION FIASCO

Makati City, Oct. 28, 1998 - Ruffa Gutierrez now admits that her Roof-A-Child Foundation's fund raising campaign failed to raise the target of P40 million for street chidlren, and she blames this on a top official of her own foundation.

The beauty queen-actress asked the Makati Regional Trial Court to dismiss the case filed against her by a Makati Foundation for failing to deliver a promised medical mission of RACF to residents of a poor area in Makati.

The Liga ng Makati sa Kabuhayan Foundation, last month, sued Ruffa and RACF project coordinator Sendle Carbonell who allegedly reneged on a pledge to bring 30 volunteer doctors and free medicine to Barangay Carmona. MASAKAF claims to have been forced into finding substitute doctors and purchase medicine at the last minute when RACF's promised mission failed to show up at barangay Carmona.

Placing the blame entirely on Carbonell, Ruffa told the court that she was aborad at the time of the mission and "the alleged unfortunate incident was solely an ultra vires (beyond legal authority or power) of Ms. Carbonell."

Ruffa clarified that Carbonell had not authority to enter into an agreement in behalf of the actress.

Gutierrez sued Carbonell for falsification of public documents. Carbonell, on the other hand, denied abandoning the mission, She claimed that the service vehicle sent to pick up the doctors was delayed and the doctors were no longer at the appointed meeting place.

Ruffa said the MASAKAF lawsuit had crippled her own foundation's fund-raising campaign, which could have raised P40 million for street children. She sued Carbonell for P3 million in moral damages and P1 million in exemplary damages, plus P100,000 for lawyer's fees.

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