Nicko Falcis, nanindigang natakot sa ‘death threats’
TINAWAG na “false, baseless and malicious” ni Nicardo “Nicko” M. Falcis II ang mga nakasaad sa complaintaffidavit na inihain laban sa kanya ni Kris Aquino noong 2018.
January 3 nang humarap si Nicko, dating managing director ng Kris C. Aquino Productions (KCAP), sa Office of the City Prosecutor ng Maynila upang personal na panumpaan ang kanyang counter-affidavit. Kasama niya ang abogadong si Atty.
Regidor A. Ponferrada.
Disyembre 17, 2018 nang una nang nagsumite ng counter-affidavit ang Ponferrada-Ty Law Offices sa Office of the City Prosecutor sa Taguig at Pasig.
Sagot ito sa mga reklamong qualified theft at paglabag sa RA 8484 (Access Devices Regulations Act of 1998) na inihain ni Kris laban kay Nicko.
Isinumite ng abogado ni Kris, si Atty. Sigrid Fortun, ang nasabing reklamo sa Prosecutors’ Office ng Quezon City, Taguig, Manila, Pasig, Mandaluyong, Makati, at San Juan. Kaya naman ngayong Enero ay magsusumite rin ni Nicko ng counteraffidavit sa Prosecutors’ Offices ng Quezon City, Mandaluyong, Makati, at San Juan.
Umuwi sa bansa noong nakaraang buwan, sa kanyang counter-affidavit ay pinasinungalingan ni Nicko, 35, isang certified public accountant (CPA) at financial consultant, ang mga paratang ni Kris.
‘UNREASONABLE DEMANDS’
“With as much integrity as truth, I vehemently deny and refute all of her allegations against me as set forth in her (Kris) Complaint-Affidavit because her allegations are false, baseless and malicious.
Sa kanyang kontra-asunto, iginiit ni Nicko na may mga dokumento na ipinipilit umano ni Kris na papirmahan sa kanya at sa kanyang pamilya, at nang hindi niya sinunod ay pinagbantaan umano nito ang kanyang buhay, kaya kinailangan niyang umalis ng bansa.
“The case she filed against me are but a part of her scheme to coerce me into involuntarily submitting to her will and complying with her unreasonable demands, including that I and members of my family execute the documents she intended for our signatures. “In the process, because I have not complied with her demands, she threatened to kill me if I return to the Philippines, destroyed my good name and reputation, and caused me and my family great hardship.”
Matatandaang sa reklamo ni Kris ay inakusahan niya si Nicko ng paggamit sa credit card ng KCAP, at paggastos ng P1,270,980.31 gamit ang nasabing card. Humihingi si Kris ng kabuuang danyos na P32.27 milyon.
Sa counter-affidavit, ipinaliwanag ni Nicko na wala silang kasunduan na kailangan niyang humingi ng permiso kay Kris para gamitin ang nasabing credit card, na inisyu sa kanya ng chief of staff ni Kris na si Alvin Gagui noong May 2018.
Nilinaw ni Nicko na ginamit niya ang credit card ng kumpanya upang bayaran ang mga gastusing may kinalaman sa KCAP—partikular sa pagbabayad sa Google at Facebook—at alam at aprubado umano ni Kris ang lahat ng ito.
“All those (purchased) items were supported by receipts and properly recorded, with an explanation of each expense, in order to establish an audit trail, for Aquino’s and her accountants’ review.
“As the credit card statements show, the expenses for which I paid with the use of the credit card generated positive results for Aquino.”
Bukod dito, para raw mapanatili ang imahe ni Kris ay nakikipag-meeting si Nicko sa foreign at local representatives ng mga prospective brands sa mga high-end na lugar—restaurant at hotel—na pinili mismo ng brand representatives.
Sa kanyang counter-affidavit, nakasaad na naniniwala si Nicko na ang tunay na dahilan sa likod ng reklamong inihain ni Kris ay upang siya ay “[to] keep quiet and involuntarily accede to her unilateral termination of our agency agreement and business arrangements, and to her unreasonable demands.” Ang mga nabanggit na dahilan, ayon kay Nicko, ay paraan ni Kris upang sirain ang kanyang pangalan, sakaling maglabas siya ng anumang impormasyon tungkol sa personal na buhay at financial dealings ng social media influencer.
‘I WAS AFRAID OF HER’ Inilahad din ni Nicko sa kanyang kontra-asunto ang isang insidente umano noong Setyembre 18, 2018, sa bahay ni Kris, nang pilitin umano siya nitong pumirma ng Quitclaim at NonDisclosure Agreement.
“At Aquino’s house, Aquino berated me for various shortcomings. I apologized to her to appease her anger and because I was afraid of her.”
Binanggit daw rito ni Kris kay Nicko ang statement of accounts ng credit card, kung saan inakusahan siyang binayaran niya ang ilang items nang walang pahintulot mula sa aktres.
Sa nasabing insidente, kinumpronta umano ni Kris si Nicko tungkol sa mga ginastos ng huli gamit ang credit card ng KCAP, at hindi raw umano pinakinggan ni Kris ang mga paliwanag ni Nicko.
“It appears also that she was not at all sincere about the credit charges as she did not even ask me to pay her for the cost of the expenses which she said were unauthorized,” at sa halip, aniya, ay pinapipirma siya ni Kris ng “undated Quitclaim and Non-Disclosure Agreement.”
“She was screaming at me in a menacing manner. I was in distress. I was afraid of her and afraid that she might also have a seizure so I apologized to her to appease her anger. Aquino mocked me. She said many things which I believe were intended to humiliate me. She gave the order to have me banned from entering the village.”
Dahil dito, napilitan na raw si Nicko na pirmahan ang nasabing mga dokumento.
Pag-uwi sa bahay ay muli niyang kinompyut ang mga ginastos niya sa credit card, at gumawa siya ng tseke na nagkakahalaga ng P437,595.67 na may petsang Setyembre 18, 2018, upang bayaran si Kris, kahit hindi naman siya inobliga nito na magbayad. Iniabot niya umano kay Alvin ang tseke kinabukasan, Setyembre 19.
At nang buwan din na iyon, alinsunod umano sa kagustuhan ni Kris, umalis si Nicko papuntang Bangkok, Thailand, at nag-enroll sa isang short course.
Habang nasa Bangkok, napag-alaman daw ni Nicko na gusto pa siyang papirmahin ni Kris ng “Supplemental Quitclaim, NonDisclosure Agreement and Undertaking.”
Base sa counter-affidavit ni Nicko, September 27, 2018 nang magkausap sila ni Kris habang nasa Bangkok siya at nasa Pilipinas si Kris at sinigaw-sigawan umano siya ng huli at pinagbantaan umanong mamamatay kapag umuwi sa Pilipinas.
“During our conversation, I was very scared. All I could say was, ‘Madam, sorry po’ and ‘Madam magso-sorry po’ because I was afraid of Aquino. I wept. I was afraid for myself but more for my widowed elderly mother and my siblings who remained in the Philippines.
“Aquino has sufficiently proven to me that she wields great power and has powerful friends, that she can easily violate my right to privacy of my travel records, and that she can track me down.
”Dahil dito, nanahimik si Nicko at mas piniling manatili sa ibang bansa dahil sa matinding takot niya para sa sariling buhay.