how Richard Gutierrez saved Cristine
As the whole world must have known by now (thanks to CNN, Fox News and even The New York Times), it was Richard Gutierrez who came to Cristine’s rescue using a borrowed speedboat more than 12 hours after she and company climbed to the roof through the water tank after they slipped through a window.
For sure, Richard’s training for his GMA starrers (Captain Barbell, Mulawin, Lupin and Asero, among them) and hosting environment-friendly GMA docus Full Force Nature and Planet: Philippines prepared him for that kind of emergency.
“It was pitch dark when I went to Provident Village,” related Richard who refused to let one of his brothers accompany him because the speedboat could accommodate only four more people. “To locate Cristine and company, I told her to blink a small flashlight.”
It was a risky rescue. Richard said he took extra care in navigating the flooded area to avoid hitting people and he sometimes had to stop the motor to clear the debris that got entangled in it.
“I saw for myself how difficult it was to rescue people,” added Richard, “that’s why I feel for rescuers from the government and private sector. Sa dami ng dapat i-rescue, hindi mo malaman kung sino ang uunahin.”
The whole time that she was on the roof, Cristine texted as many people as she could for help, turning her celfon off after sending each message to save power.
“She was hysterical when she texted me,” said Richard. “The raging floodwaters continued to rush at nadadala na daw sila ng agos. At one point, she became so hopeless at parang nagpapaalam na siya. Since I couldn’t get to her in my car, I called all the friends I know who own a speedboat and luckily, he had one na hindi niya ginagamit. At first, I wanted to borrow a helicopter but we decided against it because it would be risky to use one.”
To make a long, nightmarish story short, Richard did save Cristine but her mom decided to stay with the two kids to wait for the guys on a jetski dispatched by Cristine’s sister Ara Mina’s non-showbiz boyfriend upon Ara’s request.
Richard and Cristine are starring in the movie Patient X which Richard himself is co-producing with GMA Films, directed by Yam Laranas (also the director of The Echo, the Hollywood remake of Regal Films’ Sigaw).
This noon, Richard and Cristine will host a thanksgiving lunch for the media.
[via]
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