Maria Teresa Carlson

Maria Teresa Gerodias Carlson (October 15, 1963 – November 23, 2001) was a Filipino-American actress and beauty queen.

Carlson was born in Manila but grew up in San Francisco, California. At 16, she decided to stay in the Philippines when her family came on a visit. In 1979, She won Miss Young Philippines and represented the country in the Miss Young International Pageant in Tokyo.

She starred in several films, including comedies with Chiquito, Redford White, and with the trio of Tito, Vic and Joey. She popularized the line "Si ako, si ikaw" on the hit sitcom Chicks to Chicks .

In 1982, Carlson married Rodolfo Fariñas. They have six children — one girl and five boys: Ria Christina, Joseph Ryan Christopher, Rudys II, Rudys I, Rodolfo Jr. (+) and Rodolfo Christian

Allegations of domestic violence against husband

In a Probe Team interview in October 1996, Carlson accused her husband, then the governor of Ilocos Norte, of domestic violence. She narrated:

A week after, she appeared on the television program Magandang Gabi, Bayan, with her husband beside her and took back everything she had said against him. She told host Noli de Castro that she was just feeling insecure. "Baka dahil buntis po ako. Hindi ako maganda sa kanya. Puro motherhood, puro housewife na lang."

Before the 1996 allegations, Carlson had sought help from others.

Husband's response

Fariñas has reportedly denounced the women's organization KALAKASAN that intervened in Carlson's defense and accused the organization of "being lesbian-dominated".

Carlson committed suicide on November 23, 2001 by jumping from the 23rd floor of the Platinum 2000 condominum in Greenhills, San Juan City. Carlson's maid said hours before her death, she and Carlson went to Malacañan Palace and tried to see President Arroyo to show a video tape, which allegedly showed Carlson’s husband hurting one of their children, who is a godson of Arroyo. She said Carlson was shouting "Rochille, bilisan mo, takbo! Hinahabol nila tayo (Rochille, hurry up! They're after us)!" and ran out of her room.

The couple was estranged at the time of her death. Fariñas accused Carlson of being "mentally unstable" and let her stay at the Platinum 2000 only with a maid for companion, with Fariñas and their children staying in Ilocos Norte.

Task Force Maria is a coalition of at least 23 women’s and people’s organizations formed after Carlson’s suicide. TFM took the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) to task for failing to act on Carlson’s publicized disclosures, and later worked to reconcile two domestic violence bills in Congress in a unity bill. On March 8, 2004, Gloria Arroyo signed Republic Act 9262 or the Anti-Violence Against Women and Children Act. It shields victims with protection orders without having to file a case in court. It recognizes the battered woman syndrome as a defense.

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