“DRASTIC MOOD SWINGS” Geisler in a March 2009 file photo
Actor Baron Geisler was neither drunk nor high on drugs when he figured in a fight in his Quezon City neighborhood and had another close brush with the law late Friday, according to his manager.
But Arnold Vegafria made public for the first time that the award-winning actor, who spent the night at a police station after he went berserk at a sari-sari store in Barangay Greater Fairview, has bipolar disorder, making him “very sensitive and prone to drastic mood swings.”
Reached by the Philippine Daily Inquirer on Saturday, Vegafria said he was coming out with Geisler’s medical condition with the permission of the actor’s family because “we want the public to understand what he is going through.”
“There’s a stigma attached to being bipolar,” he said. “But it’s no big deal. It can be treated and some famous personalities have admitted to being bipolar.”
Geisler was about to be charged in the city prosecutor’s office for malicious mischief and physical injuries on Saturday but his neighbor Raymundo de la Rosa withdrew the complaints, according to Fairview police station commander Superintendent Virgilio Fabian.
De la Rosa was also planning to sue Geisler for child abuse “because his child was traumatized by what happened,” Fabian added.
Police Officer 1 Jaime Samson said the 30-year-old actor went out Friday night to buy something at De la Rosa’s store on Marlboro Street
—right next to Geisler’s residence—but was not immediately noticed by the people minding the store since they were busy.
This irritated Geisler, who allegedly grabbed a pack of bread from inside the store and scattered the contents on the ground. He then got hold of a monoblock chair and hit the store’s screen panel with it.
Samson said Geisler also punched De la Rosa in the face and kicked him in the abdomen when the latter came out to confront him. Other neighbors rushed out to break up the fight and Geisler was later picked up by the police.
Vegafria said the actor also took a beating in the brawl. Geisler’s brother Donnie also said the actor suffered bruises from the incident.
Fabian said the actor later tested positive for alcohol, but, like Vegafria, Donnie maintained that his brother was not drunk that night.
“The issue has been settled amicably,” Donnie told the Inquirer. “It’s a simple misunderstanding that got sensationalized.”
Geisler reportedly begged reporters not to take his photo at the police station. Sources heard him saying it would ruin his career—especially since he has a forthcoming endorsement deal with Liveraide, a health supplement company.
But Vegafria said, “I don’t think it will affect his endorsement deal since his problem no longer has to do with alcohol. Baron has a chemical imbalance and is undergoing treatment.”
Donnie said Geisler probably “missed his medication” that night and that his brother was “feeling down because of a personal problem” lately.
Bipolar disorder, also known as manic-depressive illness, is a condition characterized by extreme changes in mood that range from the lows of depression to the highs of mania. In most cases, it can be controlled with medications and psychological counseling.
Geisler had been involved in drunken brawls and sexual harassment cases in the past.
In December 2008, the Department of Justice approved the filing of charges of acts of lasciviousness against him in connection with the complaint from Patrizha Martinez, daughter of actors William Martinez and Yayo Aguila.
According to Patrizha, Geisler asked her to have sex with him and touched her breast. Geisler denied the accusations.
In 2009, actress Yasmien Kurdi filed two counts of acts of lasciviousness and one count of unjust vexation against Geisler in the Municipal Trial Court of Bocaue, Bulacan province. Kurdi withdrew the charges in 2011 after Geisler issued a public apology.
In January 2011, another actress, Cherry Pie Picache, accused Geisler of sexual harassment in a complaint sent to ABS-CBN management and the Philippine Artists Managers Inc., saying the actor had touched her breasts while shooting a scene in the TV series “Noah.”
Geisler apologized to Picache but said he was merely acting out a role and had no intention of offending the actress. The actor then enrolled in a six-month rehabilitation program for alcoholism.
With a report from Inquirer Research; sources: nimh.nih.gov, mayoclinic.com, webmd.com