Diego Loyzaga speaks up on club incident

MANILA, Philippines  (UPDATED) – After his name came up in reports of an altercation at the Palace Pool Club in Taguig Sunday, March 13, actor Diego Loyzaga clarified his side of the issue.

According to a report from Pep, brothers Wilmer Paolo and Wilmer Angelo Lopez accused Diego and his companions of beating them up at the Palace Pool Club in Taguig. Paolo and Angelo are both students.

On Wednesday, March 16, the Lopez brothers went to the Taguig Hall of Justice to file a complaint against Diego Loyzaga and those involved in the altercation.

In an interview with ABS-CBN, Wilmer Paolo Lopez declined to reveal details of the complaint they were filing.

“We can’t really say much a about this…Sorry I can’t really answer a lot of questions but I want to leave it all to God,” Paolo Lopez said.

Wilmer Lopez, father of the brothers said he has forgiven those who beaten up his children  but also wants justice for them.

In a statement, Star Magic, which handles the career of Diego said that  they cannot comment on the issue until a copy of the of the complaint has been given to them. However, they have already informed their legal counsel about the matter. 

In an interview with ABS-CBN Tuesday, March 15, Diego said: “No one knows the real story. Wala pa naman nagpapalabas ng (No one was coming out with a) statement from our side. So I just find it unfair everyone is suddenly ganging up and parang agreeing on the other side’s story without having to hear what we have to say,” he said.   

Diego said that all he knew was that a girl, who was said to be the girlfriend of one of the Lopez boys, asked to take a photo with him. He was then approached by one of the boys who, he said, dragged and pushed him to the ground.

“My reaction right away, in self-defense, when I stood up, I lifted my arms up so I would stop any more punches hitting me. I was afraid that when I would be on the floor, dudumugin na ako (they would mob me),” Diego said. 

Diego recounted that he and Paolo just looked at each other before the bouncers intervened. He clarified that he and Paolo were civil. 

“I told him let’s not cause a scene here. Let’s go outside and properly talk imbes na mag-away (instead of fighting) because I really don’t know what happened,” Diego said.

Diego continued that as they went out of the club, a lot of people followed them, but he wasn’t sure if they were friends with the Lopez brothers or not.

Outside, he and Paolo talked to each other and Diego apologized for the misunderstanding, but another fight broke out nearby, this time involving his friend, JC Arroyo.

“Doon na kami naging emosyonal. (That’s when we became emotional) So binalikan ko si (So I went back to) Paolo and started to ask him, ‘Paolo, do you know who that person was?’ Kasi imposibleng coincidence lang na may taong nag-aabang sa amin (because it’s impossible that it was a coincidence that there were people waiting for us),” Diego said. 

He and his friends suspected that Paolo called for backup or it was a planned fight, because it seemed that there were people with weapons waiting for them outside the club.

Diego said that he was questioning Paolo when the group from the other camp slowly aprroached them and the next thing he knew, he was hit from the side, his nose and jaw included. Diego also suffered a fractured hand.

“I was bleeding out. I couldn’t see anything anymore. Wala na po akong nakita kung sino ang nagrarambulan (I could not see who was fighting anymore). I just saw a lot of people falling, fighting, and throwing punches,” he said. 

Diego was later taken to the hospital by his friends. It was then that Diego learned that another person called up friends when he saw Paolo Lopez and Diego talking, in case there would be a fight.

Diego said he could not understand why he was being blamed for the incident when he was taken to the hospital after. 

“I’m being blamed for what happened to the brothers. I honestly don’t know what happened to the brothers. I don’t know, I didn’t see what happened to him. I know that Paolo got beaten up really bad, but Wilmer (Angelo), I don’t know where he went,” Diego said.

Diego admitted earlier in the interview that his mom, actress Teresa Loyzaga, and dad Cesar Montano, are not happy about the issue.

Paolo’s side

Meanwhile, Paolo denied that he pushed Diego to the ground, telling ABS-CBN that all he did was tell Diego that the girl who approached him was his brother’s girlfriend. According to Paolo, Diego got mad and punched him in the face.

Angelo also defended Paolo, saying that they did not know that one of the guys who who started the fight was from their group.

“He’s telling the truth. Hindi naman talaga niya alam. Wala siyang alam. (He really didn’t know. He didn’t know anything.) Things got heated. Tapos bigla na lang (And then suddenly) he got hit [above his right eye],” Angelo said. 

But according to a report from Pep, an unnamed witness reaffirmed Diego’s story, saying that Diego was approached by the Lopez siblings and that he was the one who was hit first. The witness also said that the incident happened right in front of the table where Diego and his group were. – Rappler.com