Maria Teresa Carlson


Maria Teresa Gerodias Carlson was a Filipino-American actress and beauty pageant contestant.

Early life

Carlson was born in Manila but grew up in San Francisco, California. At age of 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.

Career

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.

Personal life

In 1983, Carlson married Rodolfo Fariñas. They have six children — one girl and five boys: Ria Christina, Ryan Christopher, Rudys Caesar I, Rudys Caesar II, Rodolfo Jr. and Rodolfo III. Before Carlson, Rodolfo Fariñas also has other two children from a previous relationship with Janet Murff, namely Rica Camille and Rey Carlos.

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".

Death

On November 23, 2001, Carlson died by suicide by jumping off the balcony from the 23rd floor of the Platinum 2000 condominium in Greenhills, San Juan City.

Legacy

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 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 Macapagal 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.