Actor Matt Evans out on P200 bail after being charged with beating up girlfriend

Matt Evans

MANILA, Philippines — This will surely be a birthday he will never forget.

Wearing a dark blue hoodie, jeans, and sneakers, his face obscured by the hood and his handcuffs hidden from plain view by a face towel covering his hands, actor Matt Evans faced a prosecutor in Pasig City for an inquest on his birthday.

However, at the end of Monday, and after languishing in a detention cell of the Pasig Police for nearly two days, Evans was set free on bail.

Evans did not speak to the media all throughout Monday, but he told one of his lawyers, Gerely Rico, about his plans.

“He just wants to celebrate what remains of his birthday. He just wants to rest,” Rico said in a telephone interview.

Evans, who turned 24 on Monday, was charged by his live-in partner, 20-year-old Johnelline Hickins, of violation of the Anti-Violence Against Women and Children Act of 2004, after he allegedly pushed her, sending her crashing down a flight of stairs during a fight at their house in Barangay San Miguel, Pasig City, late Saturday night.

Meanwhile, Hickins’ brother, Juan Alberto Carlotta, filed charges of physical injuries against the actor after he got beaten up while he was trying to calm Evans.

The two were allegedly planning a surprise party for Evans when the actor, who they claimed was drunk during the time, started an argument with Hickins, which led to the beating.

Evans’ camp stands by their earlier statement that he did not hurt Hickins and Carlotta, and instead claims that he was the one hurt during the altercation.

Assistant City Prosecutor Aileen Sabare, who handled the charges, found probable cause to try Evans on both the charges, and recommended a P200 bail for the charge filed by Hickins.

By 5:30 p.m., Evans’ lawyers had paid the bail at the executive judge of the Pasig Regional Trial Court, and he was set free.

Rico said she did not know if Evans would be with Hickins tonight, and, on a more serious note, if Hickins and her brother would drop the charges against her client.

“It’s up to the complainants to decide if they will drop the charges. For our part, we cannot say our strategy on the case, and if we will enter into any settlement with the complainants,” she said.