Actress Rhian Ramos. Anna Cerezo, ABS-CBN News

MANILA -- Actress Rhian Ramos felt "insulted" by the speculations that  she and her partner, Tutok to Win Representative Sam Verzosa, cheated at the New York City Marathon earlier this month.

Rumors circulated when Atty. Estrella "Star" Elamparo pointed out in her column dated November 9 that "Ramos and Verzosa showed no entries for the 18.6, 20 and 21.7 miles of the race," implying that "they did not pass through the mile markers."

"I was insulted, na parang how can you jump to such a conclusion. But some people gawain yun," she said in an interview during the premiere of her film "Huwag Mo Kong Iwan" in Quezon City, Thursday.

"Mali naman talaga. I stand against blatant lies, especially in the  media," she added.

READ: Rhian Ramos clears up cheating rumors at the New York City Marathon

In a follow-up column, Elamparo clarified she did not accuse the couple of cheating and was merely "curious" that the couple had missing mile markers.

"I further said that 'if allegations are proven true,' this may be a case of cheating. I then emphasized that, ordinarily, an investigation would be conducted by the race organizer," she wrote.

"Finally, in my last sentence I said: This column will be open to any response from Mr. Verzosa and Ms. Ramos. Verily, I did not state as a matter of fact that the couple had cheated but only raised the possibility based on publicly available information," she added.

Ramos set the record straight on her social media accounts by posting an email from the marathon organizer, which explained the tracker discrepancies and confirmed that Rhian and Sam were still official finishers.

Both Verzosa and Ramos also uploaded the video of them passing the markers.

"It looks like both you and Samuel fell behind the sweep and the timing points at 30km, 20 miles and 35km were removed from the course as the streets reopened before you passed through. In Central Park, we can stay open longer, so you were picked up again at 40km. We certainly are not holding those timing points against you; you are both still listed as official finishers," the e-mail signed with the name Tom read.

Ramos, who was running along with Verzosa for charity, also admitted they missed the markers because they lagged behind.

"Sam and I aren't professional runners. In fact, the New York Marathon was my first 42k ever. It was crazy to do it, especially without a professional trainer… But given my schedule, I basically just relied on mental strength and making sure that I kept a fairly active lifestyle before actually flying. We didn't do it to compete with anyone's times," she wrote.

"We just had to make sure we could finish it without passing out or getting injured, because above everything, we were doing it for charity. By completing each of our runs, Sam and I raised money for children with clefts to get proper treatment and essential operations... and even if we were pretty much limping to the finish line, it was this cause that kept us from quitting and made this experience one of the best things I've ever done," she added.

While the actress slammed the column, she shared she opted not to take legal remedies.

"I think kasi for me, in my own way I addressed it naman.I made sure to get a legitimate person from the actual marathon to verify. For me, I just did not feel like I needed to. At that point, it feels like an insignificant piece of fake news," she explained.

Her partner, Verzosa, on the other hand, decided to slap a cyber libel case against the columnist as well as other vloggers who picked up the issue.

"Marami nasaktan. Kung ako lang, OK lang. Pero mahal ko sa buhay— dinamay niya si Rhian. Kailangan ko pagtangol. Ayaw niya na lang pansinin, pero nasaktan si Rhian," he said in an interview held after he filed the cyber libel case in Manila City, Tuesday.  

"Ayoko sana patulan pero dapat may tumindig laban sa mga tao na nagpapakalat ng paninira at fake news online," he added.