Ricardo Cepeda turns emotional as he recalls spending 11 months in jail
Ricardo Cepeda has spoken out for the first time since his release from prison after 11 months, tearfully saying that what worried him the most was his family.
In a media interview shared by GMA's 24 Oras on Monday, Sept. 23, the actor looked back on his arrest in October 2023 over syndicated estafa.
“My biggest issue, my worry is sila," he said, referring to his loved ones. "How are they going to handle it? How are they going to handle people saying things about me, ‘yung negativity they may hear?"
He recalled thinking he could clear his name immediately especially since he had maintained that he was only an endorser of the products of the company that allegedly offered clients an investment scheme.
"Akala ko talaga [the case] would be over once nakita, nabasa nila, nakita nila na, ah, hindi siya kasama. I really thought, we thought, two months lang baka tapos na ito," he said. "You try to be positive."
During his time in jail, the actor said his partner, model-actress Marina Benipayo, supported and helped him overcome difficult times.
"Sabi ko nga she's my hero, she really kept everything together,” Cepeda said. “That's what helped me also inside—knowing that somebody is taking charge outside.”
After his prison release, Cepeda is also looking forward to returning to Coco Martin’s Batang Quiapo as Richardson Wu. "That was what I was promised. I was promised," he said, according to a report by ABS-CBN News. "Kampante ako na may waiting work. And 'yan yung worry ko, 'yung eleven months na wala akong income, puro labas ako nang labas ng pera for the legal expenses."
Cepeda, whose real name is Richard Cesar Go, was released from the Cagayan Provincial Jail last week after posting bail. He was arrested at a resto bar in Caloocan City last year.
No hearing has been set for his case as of writing.