Ruffa Gutierrez visits victims of domestic violence

Matapos bumisita kamakailan ni Ruffa Gutierrez sa opisina ng Gabriela para personal na magpasalamat sa suportang ipinagkaloob sa kanya ng grupong ipinaglalaban ang karapatan at kapakanan ng mga kababaihan, ay sa The Haven naman siya dumalaw noong Martes, June 26.

Ang The Haven ay isang center for abused women and children sa Alabang, Muntinlupa na ipinatayo ng Congressional Spouses Foundation, Inc. (CSFI) sa pamumuno ni Ms. Gina de Venecia.

"Wala roon si Manay Gina, but they're inviting me sa anniversary nila on September 30," kuwento ni Ruffa sa PEP (Philippine Entertainment Portal). "Tuwang-tuwa sila [The Haven residents] nang makita nila ako. They were all clapping and they were happy.

"Pero alam mo yung pakiramdam na akala ko marami na akong pinagdaanan at akala ko grabe na yung pinagdaanan ko, pero hindi pa pala? Pag narinig mo yung mga kuwento nila, talagang grabe! So, I realized that there are people that are in worse situations than I am," pahayag ni Ruffa.

Nang makita niya ang mga battered women ng The Haven, na-feel niya ba na she was one of them?

"Yeah, I felt like I was one of them," mabilis na sagot ng former beauty queen. "But I felt like there's also a reason for me to be happy and to be grateful because my family is behind me.

"Actually, hindi ko masabi sa kanilang, ‘Iwanan nyo yung asawa nyo!' because they've already taken the first step in moving on. That's the reason why they're there sa The Haven, because they were able to go to the DSWD [Department of Social Welfare and Development].

"Meron sa kanilang victims of rape, victims of incest...So sabi ko, hindi ko na kailangang mag-complain pa sa buhay ko. Kasi, yung nga kuwento nila are even worse.

"And I just want everyone to know na it can happen to anybody. It can happen to you and you're from Payatas and it can happen to me and I've like travelled the world!

"It doesn't matter. So, don't think, you know, wala silang kakampi. Nakakaawa sila lalo na yung mga anak nila," sambit pa ni Ruffa, na nakipaghiwalay kamakailan sa Turkong asawa niyang si Yilmaz Bektas dahil hindi na umano niya makayanan ang pananakit nito sa kanya.

Read the full article here.