Claudine Barretto and Angelica Panganiban (inset)

Actress Claudine Barretto said she will file a "libel or slander" case against actress Angelica Panganiban for allegedly telling their mutual friends that Barretto is cheating on husband Raymart Santiago, reports Inquirer.net and PEP.ph. Panganiban supposedly said Barretto was having an affair with the best friend of Panganiban's boyfriend Derek Ramsay.

Barretto told Inquirer.net, "I'm not one to keep quiet when you (challenge) my family. It's too late for an apology." She said, "Derek and Raymart have discussed it (but) Angelica never reached out to me. She felt no remorse. When things got out of hand, she denied that she ever said it. But a number of friends are willing to testify in court that she did. I'm not going into this unprepared."

Ramsay has apologized to Barretto, according to the actress but she said, "He wasn't the traitor." She added, "I myself have known Angelica since she was nine. I took care of her (when she was just starting out in the business). She was there when Raymart and I got married. She was there when (our children) Sabina and Santino were christened. We invited her to our birthday celebrations."

Barretto claimed Panganiban spread the rumors "(just) because she fought with (Barretto's) Ate (Gretchen)." Panganiban and Gretchen Barretto, Ramsay's co-star in Magkaribal, supposedly had a word war in July over Ramsay. The two actresses patched things up in August, after Panganiban publicly apologized to Gretchen.

Johnny "Mr. M" Manahan, the first head of ABS-CBN's talent arm Star Magic which handles Panganiban, sent PEP.ph a text message: "Go ahead. Sue, Claudine. Make our day! Para bellum." The report said "para bellum" comes from the Latin adage "si vis pacem, para bellum" which means "if you wish for peace, prepare for war." Star Magic used to handle Barretto's career before she transferred to GMA network.

For more on this story, log on to Inquirer.net and PEP.ph. Photo by Noel Orsal of PEP.ph.