The house on 131 Rahman Street in barangay Zapatera, Cebu City which appeared in Cebu Daily News’ front page on Nov. 4 and 5, 2012 is a Rama residence but not the “ancestral home” of talent manager and congressional candidate Annabelle Rama.
Members of the Mendezona family clarified that the house belongs to Evelyn Mendezona Rama, who is based in Canada.
Evelyn is the surviving daughter of ship captain Laurente Rama and his wife Elena Mendezona Rama, from whom she inherited the house.
Family members who called CDN’s attention to this background said they “want to remain private and away from politics.”
Other Mendezonas own and occupy houses on the street as well.
A CDN front page photo in the Nov. 4 issue showed the caretaker of the two-storey wooden house on 131 Rahman Street holding up framed photos of the late ship captain, who is also Annabelle’s father, and Evelyn, her half-sister.
(The caption mistakenly described Evelyn as the captain’s half-sister. This update serves to correct that misimpression.)
Following the death of Annabelle’s mother, Feliciana, Annabelle lived with Evelyn and her family during her teenage years before moving to Manila and marrying actor Eddie Gutierrez.
She was welcomed in the household by her “Tita Elena”, who was described by Mendezona relatives as a kind-hearted woman who treated Annabelle like an adopted daughter.
Annabelle thus considered 131 Rahman Street, for a time, as her home.
That’s the address the celebrity manager finally placed as her residence in her voter’s registration filed with the Commission on Elections in May 2012 when she transferred her voting records from Manila to Cebu City.
On October 5, the last day of a national deadline, Annabelle Rama filed her certificate of candidacy to run for Congress representing the north district of Cebu City, her first foray in election politics and the first entertainment celebrity to seek this national position in the city./Eileen G. Mangubat and Chief of Reporters Doris C. Bongcac