The singer was described as the one who replaced veteran actress Eva Darren as presenter of the Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences Awards (FAMAS) at the last minute and broke her silence on the issue.
In her Facebook post, Sheena Palad responded to the netizens who criticized her after she replaced Eva during the event.
According to her, she was supposed to perform only during the awards night, but a staff member of FAMAS asked her to become a last-minute replacement for Eva, who was already at the venue at that time.
“Pinuntahan po ako ng staff sabi niya ‘Sheena can we ask a big favor from you?’ sabi ko ‘Yes, what’s that?’ tapos ang sabi niya ‘Can you present the award’ sabi ko ‘okay sige, no problem’ that’s it, ‘yun lang po ang alam ko,” she said.
“Hindi ko po alam na si Miss Eva ‘yung magpe-present [ng award]. Sa totoo lang po I’m also clueless, hindi po kasi ako nanonood ng awards night, I was at the holding area so hindi ko po alam kung paano mag-present,” she added.
In her caption, she also declared that Jesus Christ would protect her from the criticisms.
“Buti na lang may Lord Jesus Christ ako sa buhay ko. Honestly, Hindi ko kaya to! It’s also a lesson for everybody to not QUICKLY judge a person,” she said.
It can be recalled that Fernando de la Perna said that his mother was supposed to become one of the presenters of FAMAS together with Tirso Cruz III and even prepared well for the event.
“Mom was excited, bought the best dress and pair of heels she could afford and topped that with a nice package of hair and make up for the gala. During the event, she brought along three of her very proud grandkids. With a price tag of P5,000 ($90) per plate for four people, needless to say, it was not a cheap evening. It was all worth it though. After all, the last time she was on stage during a FAMAS awards night was back in 1969 when she received the coveted “Best Supporting Actress Award” for her role in the movie ANG PULUBI (The Beggar) opposite legendary actress Charito Solis,” he wrote.
“After the glitz and glamour shots with air-cheek-kisses and what not, everyone eventually took their seats and the awarding commenced. During the point where she was supposed to present an award, her partner, Mr. Tirso Cruz III went upstage with an upcoming young singer instead. Not my mom,” he added.
Meanwhile, FAMAS only said that they couldn’t find Eva during the event, which prompted them to replace her.