Corazon distressed by girl's affairs

Former Philippines president Corazon Aquino is "distressed" by her youngest daughter's soap opera flings with married men, the former leader's son Benigno 'Noynoy' Aquino said in an interview published yesterday.

Kris Aquino, a television game show hostess, made a tearful confession on national television last month that she had had a short-lived romantic relationship with Joey Marquez, a married movie star and mayor of a suburban Manila district.

Marquez, who is seeking annulment of his 12-year marriage to fellow movie actress Alma Moreno, also admitted his relationship with Aquino on local television.

Noynoy, a legislator in the House of Representatives, said the family was "distressed" by the relationship, according to the Philippine Daily Inquirer newspaper.

Ex-president Aquino, a devout Roman Catholic who ruled between 1986 and 1992, is dealing with the situation through prayers, the son added.

"It's a replay of the same situation," Noynoy tells reporters, referring to Kris's five-year affair with Salvador, who like Marquez is married.

Noynoy refused to comment further, saying his relationship with Kris has remained strained over her failed affair with Salvador.

During elections, however, it is Kris, being very popular among the masses, who is in the forefront of her family's political campaign.

While Noynoy is seething mad about the Kris-Marquez affair, Kris is happy and proudly thanked Marquez on TV for admitting his love for her. "That's the nicest thing ever said about me," Kris adding that their affair is now over.