In his tell-all interview in The Buzz yesterday, actor Coco Martin spoke about the controversy with actress Katherine Luna. According to him, he and Katherine became close when they filming Masahista, a film by Brilliante Mendoza. He clarified that while they weren't in a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship, something happened between them, so when Katherine told Coco that she was pregnant, the actor naturally assumed that the baby was his.

During that time, Coco was still a student and only had a few indie film projects under his belt, making it a challenge to support the child. Still, the actor said that he had already known that he would do everything for the baby, and that he was even there when Katherine gave birth.

Surprisingly, the actress kept on declaring in TV interviews that Coco was an absentee, irresponsible father. Being a gentleman, Coco didn't want to dispute Katherine's statements. He also denied the speculations that they lived together under one roof.

It was after many years when he was shooting Born to Love You that he met the child in Luneta. He spoke to the child and the grandmother, and excited to get custody of the child, called up his manager to break the news.

"Sabi niya sa akin, ‘Teka lang hindi ganun kadali ‘yun. Kailangan idaan sa legal na sitwasyon.’ And then sabi niya, ‘Kung talagang gusto mo, kausapin natin, ipa-DNA muna natin,’” he tells Boy Abunda.

The DNA results came out negative. However, the actor did not feel relief because he recalled all the negative publicity he had had to face before. He tells Boy, “Pati lola ko nahihiyang lumabas kasi napakairesponsable kong tao, 'yun ang tingin sa akin. My point is, sana naisip mo din 'yung bata. Kasi lahat ng mga kalaro niya, I’m sure kapag nakikita ako sa TV ‘Ay 'yung daddy ko.’ Hindi lang ako. Ang laki nung damage na nangyari.”

But even if the DNA results proved that the eight-year-old child is not his, Coco says that he still wants to take care of the kid. “Siyempre on my part, gusto ko akuin 'yung bata kasi wala siyang kasalanan. Hindi ko rin alam kung anong pwedeng puntahan. Ano na ngayon? Paano na ngayon siya? 'Yung pinakainaasahan niyang hope, wala pala."

(Photo courtesy of PEP.ph)