Ruffa with her two daughters Venice and Lorin (Photo from Ruffa’s Twitter)

MANILA, Philippines – TV host-actress Ruffa Gutierrez is apparently fighting her “biggest battle,” as her estranged husband, Yilmaz Bektas, wants her to send their two daughters to his home country Istanbul.

It seems Ruffa  is against his idea. In the “Presscon Express” segment of “Paparazzi” last July 17, the former beauty queen tearfully said, “Sana kung normal siyang tao---hindi ko sinasabing abnormal siya---pero sana kung may trust ako sa kanya…

“Ang dami namang divorced families diba na every summer puwede mo nang ipahiram ‘yung mga bata sa kanya, pag winter, sa’kin naman, wala namang problema, we can come up with a solution...”

She admitted that as a mother, she’s “scared” over the situation.

“Sabi ni Yilmaz ‘I won’t do anything to you.’ But hindi mo puwedeng maialis sa’kin ang matakot. Sabi ko ‘anytime you wanna come to the Philippines, please come, you can stay here six months if you want. Kung gusto mo sa Amerika okay lang din, please wag lang naman sa Turkey’,” she said.

Even her parents, Annabelle Rama and Eddie Gutierrez, welcome Yilmaz’s possible visit.

“[They said] he’s free to come here. Ngayon if the kids want to go to Istanbul pag malalaki na sila, wala na sila sa akin, they can go ahead and do what they want, adults na sila. But right now I have the responsibility to protect them,” said Ruffa.

As to reports saying that Yilmaz’s sister will fly to the country to take her daughters from her, Ruffa said, “Sinabi nga na ‘yung kapatid niya pupunta next week. Pero I will only believe if I actually see her here.”

The still-unresolved chapter of Ruffa and Yilmaz made headlines again last week after the former posted an intriguing tweet in her account on July 13 about receiving a “shocking phone call” and asking her followers to pray for her.

The next day, GMA-7 reported about the Turkish businessman’s apparent disappointment over the court’s decision to grant Ruffa the sole custody of their two children, Lorin and Venice, “without giving me the right to defense myself,” as he was quoted to have said in an email.

Beginning of the ‘battle’

In the same “Paparazzi” segment, Ruffa detailed how the latest “battle” between her and Yilmaz began. She recalled receiving a lengthy email from Yilmaz last week which she described as, “sobrang nakaka-shock ‘yung mga contents.”

“Marami siyang kasiraan sa’kin na inuubos ko daw ‘yung pera ng mga bata. First of all, hindi naman sila nagtatrabaho. Akala niya siguro tuwing may pictorial sa mga magazine, milyon-milyon ang binabayad sa mga bata. Eh libre lang naman ‘yon, diba?” said Ruffa.

Through a phone call from entertainment editor Ricky Lo, Ruffa learned that Yilmaz had contacted the former as well as GMA News.

“I was just really devastated and basically, gusto ni Yilmaz ng custody ng dalawang anak namin,” she related.

Ruffa, however, maintained---as she did in her tweet last July 15---that she has been granted the sole custody of the kids, while Yilmaz has visitation rights. The said decision, Ruffa noted, was issued by presiding judge Jose L. Bautista, Jr. of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 107 last March 11, 2010.

The whole ruckus prompted Ruffa to call her former better half in hopes of sorting out the issue with him.

“Sinabi ko ‘You know, Yilmaz, let’s stop this. Kung meron tayong dapat pag-usapan, let’s just talk about it between us. Bakit kailangang tumawag ka pa kay Ricky Lo, tumawag ka pa sa mga news? You know my kids are six and seven years old already, hindi na katulad ng dati na puwede tayong mag-away sa TV.’

“Mga bata pa sila no’n, and I even regret that because I know one day mababasa nila ‘yan sa Internet. But now they go to school, they can read. Pinaka-usap ko ‘yung mga bata kay Yilmaz. Thank God na he calmed down and sabi niya, ‘Okay,'” recalled the “Paparazzi” host.

Despite the obvious disagreements, Ruffa said that she and Yilmaz are “trying to come up with an agreement na we can meet halfway.”

“…na maging masaya siya, maging masaya ako,” she added.

Ruffa has not told their little princesses about the situation.

“Para sa’kin hindi na nila kailangang malaman ‘yung mga ganito. As a matter of fact I told my mom to send them to Timezone or somewhere para hindi nila mapanood ang ‘Paparazzi’ today. Para sa’kin kasi, these are kids eh, and I don’t feel that this is the right time for me to explain things,” she said.

Responsible mother

Ruffa also tore up when she related her sacrifices for Lorin and Venice.

“It’s been four years since naghiwalay kami [ni Yilmaz], since I came back to the Philippines to start a new life, and since then ako ang… sumusuporta sa mga bata. Alam ng mga tao ‘yan.

“For one year, humihingi ako ng tulong sa kanya. Hindi dahil kailangan ko ‘yung pera niya. Pero dahil tatay siya ng mga anak ko. It’s his responsibility to at least pay for the school. Hindi na sa’kin dahil maraming salamat at maraming kumukuha sa’kin para magtrabaho ako. I send my kids to international school…” she said.

She lamented that Yilmaz has broken his promises to visit their daughters.

”Everytime sinasabi niya pupunta siya dito, ‘yung mga bata naghahanda, umiiyak, siyempre nami-miss siya. And for me, I would like to believe I raised my kids well, na mahal na mahal nila ‘yung tatay nila.

“And siguro sa sobrang pagmamahal nga nila, I had to tell them a little bit of the truth, dahil baka ako ang sisihin nila one day 'Bakit ayaw mo kaming ipadala sa Istanbul?'” said Ruffa.

No hurtful words

Despite all the supposed cutting remarks she got from Yilmaz, Ruffa said she wouldn’t do the same to him.

“I really like what my mom told me the other day. Umiyak ako sa kanila ng daddy ko…. Pero sabi ni Mommy, ‘Wag mo na siyang siraan Ruffa. Wag ka nang magsalita ng masasakit laban kay Yilmaz kasi si Lorin tsaka si Venice, mahal na mahal nila si Yilmaz.’ So I would just like to try to move forward with grace and wag nga siyang siraan for the sake of my kids,” she related.

Ruffa, who’s still waiting for their annulment to be granted, also hopes that she and Yilmaz will eventually become friends.

“I wish and pray all the time na magkaro'n kami ng magandang usapan ni Yilmaz kahit bilang magkaibigan na lang para sa mga anak ko kasi ayoko namang lumaki sina Lorin and Venice hating their father,” said she.

Asked if she will resort to legal action to settle the matter, Ruffa said, “My lawyers already know what’s happening, para lang maging safe and maging klaro.

“I’m happy na nag-usap kami ni Yilmaz the other day, and I was able to calm him down and nag-usap sila ng mga bata after a long, long time, and he gave a short interview kay Tito Ricky Lo so sana hanggang dun na lang ‘yon.”