Veteran actress Eva Darren’s family accepted the public apology made by the organizers of the 72nd FAMAS, which was held at the Manila Hotel on May 26.
It can be recalled that thousands of netizens expressed their support to Eva after she was replaced at the last minute by a ‘younger host’ as the award presenter despite being well-prepared for the event.
“We revered FAMAS and everything it stands for. This is why what happened to my mother, in the eyes of our family, was incomprehensible, unexpected, unimaginable,” Dr. Fernando de la Peña, the son of Eva, said.
“We also know that Mr. Tirso Cruz III (Veteran actor loved by all, donor of many camping tents when I was a Boy Scout in grade school) and the PR Officer of FAMAS Mr. R (An incredible author and lover of classic cinema), have nothing to do with what happened and just the same, were casualties of someone’s questionable backstage judgment,” he added.
Before accepting the apology, De la Peña insisted that her mother could have been easily found as she was only seated in front of the stage together with other veteran actresses, Divina Valencia and Marissa Delgado.
“For the reasons I stated above and on behalf of my mother, Ms. Eva Darren, our family accepts the olive branch that FAMAS has extended and only hope that future events would prove to be contrasting,” he said.
“I understand that we are but a small voice in the back row of a rowdy crowd, but if I may humbly, personally, recommend two things for the 73rd FAMAS Awards Night: Please stick to the script and maybe a nice pair of eyeglasses for all in charge,” he added.
It can be recalled that the ‘young singer’ who replaced Eva also said that she was clueless about the last-minute changes that occurred during the event.
“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.