Wife charges ex-actor Royette Padilla with assault

Angeles City, Pampanga—Police on Monday arrested former actor Royette Padilla after his wife complained that he beat her up in a bar at the Clark Freeport.

Padilla, 49, was arrested by Clark Development Corp. security personnel and Angeles City policemen at the free port’s main gate at 4 a.m. while driving a Nissan Safari. His four-year-old son was also in the vehicle.

In her complaint, Padilla’s wife, Jane Cheryl Padilla, 39, said that they were at the V8 Resto Bar to celebrate the birthday of their son. At around 2 a.m., she said she asked to go home but Padilla refused.

“He got angry at me and started screaming… when I stood up to leave, he grabbed my arm and pushed me to a corner. He started punching me in the face until I fell. Royette continued to punch me even as I lay on the floor,” Jane said in her complaint written in Filipino.

After 30 minutes, Padilla left the bar with their son and boarded his vehicle. Policemen led by Senior Supt. Rodolfo Recomono Jr., acting city police chief, and Chief Insp. Luisito Tan, Station 4 commander, stopped him at the Clark main gate.

Padilla was charged with violation of Republic Act No. 9262 (Anti-Violence Against Women and Children Act of 2004) in the Angeles prosecutor’s office. Jun Malig, Inquirer Central Luzon