A photo posted by Valeen Montenegro (@valeentawak) on Mar 2, 2016 at 8:51pm PST

MANILA – Actress Valeen Montenegro finally broke her silence about speculations that she caused the separation of Ciara Sotto and her husband, businessman Jojo Oconer.

Entertainment site PEP caught up with Montenegro at an event on Wednesday and the actress agreed to do an interview about the matter.

“How am I taking it?” she said. “It's not something na I experience every day so parang nagulat din ako.”

Amid persistent rumors, Montenegro emphasized that she is not the third party in Sotto and Oconer’s marriage.

“Actually, I don't want to talk about it din in a way na wala akong pakialam kasi, it's something na...it's really big for them, and there are other people involved,” she said.

When asked if she feels the need to defend herself against bashers who keep on calling her names, Montenegro said: “First, wala naman po kasi ring lumapit sa akin, wala ring nagtanong. Saka it's best not to say anything, let the issue die a natural death.”

She then revealed that her talent management has advised her to just keep quiet about the issue, which she thinks is also the best way to deal with it.

“I cannot talk about it. The talent management also advised me not to,” she said. “Sorry, I really don’t want to talk about it.”

Montenegro also told PEP that she hasn’t had the chance to talk to either Sotto or Oconer since the issue surfaced.

In January, Sotto announced on Instagram that she has decided to leave her husband and go back to the house of her parents, Senator Vicente Sotto III and Helen Gamboa.

The singer-actress has yet to reveal the exact reason for her split with Oconer, but she has been hinting that a third party might be involved.

(READ: Is Ciara Sotto a 'scorned' wife?)

Sotto married Oconer in 2010. She gave birth to their first child, Vincezo Xose, last year.