Her lawyer stated on Monday that Ruffa Gutierrez did not force her two housekeepers to leave or fail to pay their wages.

“Contrary to fake news peddled on social media, our client neither fired the helpers nor refused to pay their remaining pay for six days. In fact, it was the helpers who quit and insisted that they leave the house immediately without complying with clearance requirements of the village association,” Bryant Gamonnac Casiw of the BGC Law Office said in a comment.

“This fake news is a black propaganda/smear campaign against our client as she is playing the character of former First Lady Imelda Marcos in an upcoming movie,” Casiw continued.

On July 7, former Commission on Elections commissioner and P3PWD Party-list Representative Rowena Guanzon posted a blind item, “My friend has to rescue two household helpers who were thrown out of a first class village by their employers without paying their salaries. Where is your compassion?

Guanzon responded to her tweet the next day, expressly addressing the actress, writing, “Ms Ruffa Gutierrez is [it] true?”

The actress quickly responded to the charges.

“Let me make it clear po: I did NOT fire anyone. They wanted to leave on their own accord. I have rarely been home shooting everyday, all day, all night for #MAIDinMALACANANG – You should watch it BTW. You’re gonna love it.”

“II’m always very generous with those I love and those that work for me,” she says, “most of our helpers have been with me for 13-35 years. We are FAMILY. Through thick and thin, ika nga.”

“Maid in Malacaang” reimagines the Marcoses’ final 72 hours within the Palace before escaping to Hawaii during the People Power Revolution of 1986.

Gutierrez’s lawyer said that while Gutierrez was away, the two workers who refused to leave were “unruly and [went] insane.” They continued phoning the actress, insisting that they go immediately. “They caused a commotion and were in a hurry to leave the house, without first complying with the clearance requirements of the village association,” Casiw said. “Their acts endangered the safety, security, and privacy of our client and her family. It was also discovered that the helpers made arrangements to transfer employment to a neighbor in the village.”