Jay-Jay Barretto, the low-profile non-showbiz older brother of celebrity siblings Gretchen, Marjorie, and Claudine Barretto, has explained why he came to Gretchen’s defense after their mother, Estrella “Inday” Barretto, lambasted her in a statement released to the Philippine Star last April 24.

"I couldn't stand it anymore," Jay-Jay said in a phone interview with PEP.ph editor-in-chief Jo-Ann Maglipon. "Claudine has been acting up for so long."

"We want to help. But she's into things, difficult things... Claudine can't be controlled. She's fighting everyone, but she's manipulating my mom and dad into believing that it's Gretchen that's hitting her. I have to put a stop to this," he continued, adding that he and his five other siblings just want to end the rift that their youngest sister reportedly caused.

Jay-Jay also shared that the whole family was shocked when they found out what their mother did.

"I was so shocked when I found out there was a letter,” he said. "When I spoke to Gretchen, she was crying. She tried to talk, but after a while, humahagulgol na lang siya. Iyak nang iyak (she was only sobbing. She couldn’t stop crying.)."

"Wala namang ginagawa si Gretchen. Iba na ang concerns niya ngayon. Wala, tahimik na lang siya, ang tagal na (Gretchen isn’t doing anything. Her concerns now are different. She’s been quiet for a long time)…With this thing of my mom, Gretchen just kept crying. Calling her an ST (sex trip) Queen! My mom could have defended Claudine, but to hit Gretchen, when Gretchen worked for the family!" he continued, referring to the period of Gretchen’s career when she starred in one sexy movie after another in the 1980s.

Jay-Jay also revealed that Claudine was supposed to be brought to a rehabilitation center for treatment last Christmas.

"My mom and dad asked for a meeting. They had gone to a rehab center in White Plains, and they had been advised to attend to Claudine's illness right away. The very next day, they were supposed to bring my sister to the hospital…But when my parents spoke to Claudine, she told them 'I'm okay, I'm okay…' I don't know how, but she managed to convince them that there was nothing wrong with her, and that Gretchen was the only one saying she [Claudine] was sick,” he explained. "Now my mom's obsession is to protect Claudine…She [my mom] just goes on believing that there's nothing wrong."

Jay-Jay likewise confirmed that Claudine had strongly opposed the decision of Marjorie’s daughter Julia to become an ABS-CBN talent last year, believing that this was her former network’s way of completely ruining her career. Claudine reportedly later blamed Gretchen for Julia’s entry into show business, in effect worsening the feud between the two.

"If there is anyone who cared more for her niece, we all know it is Gretchen, as she has proven when she chose to protect me and my siblings for a long, long time," he had written in the statement he released earlier.

(Photo courtesy of PEP.ph)