MANILA, Philippines — The social media manager of Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences Awards (FAMAS) revealed that veteran actress Eva Darren was not included in the final list of presenters at last Sunday night's awarding ceremony.
In a lengthy Facebook post accompanied with screenshots of conversations, a photo of a cue card, and a copy of a publication material for the awards night, FAMAS Social Media Manager Johnrey Rivas claimed that FAMAS Public Relations Officer Renz Spangler had sold tickets to Darren and told her that she was going to be a presenter.
According to Rivas, they had a group chat where the production team, including the director for the awards show Vince Tañada, where they discussed all the pertinent details of the award ceremony held last Sunday in Manila Hotel.
"Walang nasabi si Renz na wala doon si Mam Eva Darren. Pero noong final na usapan ay noong May 24 at 6:30 p.m. kung sino ang confirmed na presenters. Hindi ito nasabi ng inviter na PRO ng Famas na wala sa program si Ms Eva at confirmed ang attendance nito," Rivas said, adding that Spangler was not present during their final coordination meeting and rehearsal day.
"Pero ang hindi ko magets bakit hindi nakarating sa kanya na wala na si Eva Darren sa programa Biyernes pa lang?" he added.
He said that there was a major revamp of presenter on the day itself because some presenters canceled their appearance.
"Sa panahong ito, hindi lang si Eva Darren ang tinanggal dahil walang kumpirmasyon ng pagdalo. Tinanggal din sina Gloria Diaz (na nag-cancel sa mismong araw), LA Santos, Alfred Vargas at iba pa. Ken Chan at Glaiza de Castro ay nag-cancel lang noong gabi," he said.
"Nagkaroon ng major revamp ng presenters dahil hindi nga masigurado ang pagdalo ng mga ito," he added.
On the awards night itself, Rivas said that there were no instructions to change the program. Rivas also clarified regarding the reason provided in the earlier statement about the production team not being able to locate Darren in the venue.
Rivas detailed the events including the time when they occured from his memory. By 9:30 p.m, he said that Tirso Cruz III and actress Glaiza de Castro were supposed to present the FAMAS Citation Award but the actress did not push through, citing that they needed her management's decision regarding her being a presenter, even though the actress really wanted to do it. Pressed for time since they were streaming live, they spotted veteran actress Nova Villa, but also ended up not tapping her after the actress aired her concern regarding her eyesight.
Rivas said the stage manager was frantically looking for someone to present the award with Tirso Cruz III and they spotted young singer Sheena Palad, who was set to perform on stage, thus they thought of tapping her to present the award. Rivas defended Palad, saying the singer did not deserve the bashing since she was just trying to help them.
As written and posted on his Facebook, Rivas said: "HINDI HINANAP NG PROD SI MS. EVA DARREN DAHIL NG BIYERNES PA LANG AY WALA NA ITO SA PROGRAMA AT SCRIPT. KATULAD DIN NG HINDI NA HINANAP SI ALFRED, SI LA SANTOS AT ANG IBA PA. IYON ANG MALINAW SA FAMAS BOARD. DAHIL NGA WALANG CONFIRMATION SA INVITER (PRO NG FAMAS) NITO MULA BIYERNES HANGGANG LINGO."
Rivas revealed that the FAMAS awards show had no producer, thus, the hosts and performers were "nameless."
He ended his lengthy post by addressing Spangler and asking him to take accountability.
"Hindi ko kasi mapapayagan na ang kumpanya na pinamumunuan ko at mga tao sa loob nito ang pagsasabihan ng mga masasakit na salita at yuyurakan ang pagkatao sa maling pagbibintang at gawa gawang paninisi. Sinalo ni Direk Vince ang kapabayaan mo rin sa amin at pinagtakpan ka sa pagkakamali mo. Kung ayaw mo aminin ako na ang magsasabi, malaki ang pagkukulang mo noong rehearsals, coordination meeting at sa mismong gabi ng parangal. Kung naging VIGILANT ka sa mga pagbabago ng programa noong Biyernes May 24 at kung nasagot ng secretary mo kung dadalo ba ang mga inimbita, hindi siguro ito mangyayari," Rivas said, adding that Spangler left their group chat during the day of the final rehearsal.
Rivas noted that Spangler is going through a tough time after the death of a loved one. "I know na ngayon ay namatayan ka ng mahal mo sa buhay at hindi ito ang tamang panahon para madiin ka. This is just me asking for your accountability 'yun lang."
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