Talent manager and showbiz reporter Ogie Diaz criticized the organizers of FAMAS after they replaced veteran actress Eva Darren as a presenter at the event’s last minute.

In his Facebook post, Ogie said that it would be hard to believe FAMAS’ explanation that they couldn’t find Eva at the venue, despite the testimony from some guests that the veteran actress was sitting near the stage throughout the night.

“Sabi ng FAMAS spokesperson ba ‘yon? Hindi raw ma-locate ang seat ni Ms. Eva Darren, kaya nagkaroon ng last minute replacement sa stage. Sorry for my word, put—ina naman, sa tanda naman ni Ms. Eva, saan naman kaya siya pupunta? Nagte-table hopping ba siya? Nagyosi sa backstage? Nag-jog sa Quirino Grandstand? Namamasyal sa Luneta? Mga palaka kayo!” he said.

Ogie also said that he was not surprised with what happened to this year’s FAMAS as he also heard that some of the awards were influenced by its sponsors.

“Samantalang me nakapasabi sa akin (kayo nang mga taga-riyan ang sumagot kung true), binigyan n’yo ng award ang ilang hindi naman karapat-dapat magka-award porke nag-sponsor lang nang malaki. True ba? Tapos, inabala n’yo ‘yung matandang nirerespeto sa industriya para lang mabastos sa Gabi ng Parangal?” he stated.

As of writing FAMAS has yet to give a response to Ogie’s claims.

A graduation ceremony in a private college in Davao del Norte went viral on social media after several graduates made bizarre dance moves after receiving their diplomas.

The Kapalong College of Technology’s graduation ceremony captured the attention of netizens after some of its senior high school graduates made a unique take on what was supposed to be a solemn event.

Some students performed acrobatic moves, while others made disrespectful gestures in front of the school officials and parents.

The video received several reactions from the netizens and called the attention of the Department of Education to review the footage.

“What kind of school would allow students to act like that?” netizen Eve said.

“Ayaw na ba nila mag-aral? Too early to celebrate, may college pa.. I might’ve done it kung nakatapos akong college,” another netizen commented.

While there are no exact rules on how a graduation ceremony should be practiced, some netizens believe that DepEd must release clear guidelines to prevent graduation ceremonies from becoming a ‘circus.’

However, several guidelines released by DepEd described graduation rites as ‘solemn’, which means the event must be dignified and formal.

As of writing DepEd has yet to release a statement on the said event.

@chriscutie30

Kapalong College of Technology Viral Graduation Ceremony with Tiktok Dance Moves 😒😒😒😒 #fyp #deped #depedteacher#graduation #graduation2023 #philippines #saraduterte

♬ Instrumen Sholawat Sedih – Yuda pratama

72nd FAMAS director Vince Tanada insisted that he had no choice but to replace veteran actress Eva Darren at the last minute of the event.

In his explanation, Tanada, who’s known for his movie ‘Katips,’ stood by his story that they couldn’t find Eva during the time she was supposed to get on the stage.

He also said that coordinating and communicating with Eva was not his responsibility.

“Eva Darren was on my script. I wrote the script and I can say that she was there. Before the segment, our staff was looking for her. Hindi siya makita. Considering that we are running a live show and we are streamed live, last minute we had to look for a replacement,” said Tanada.

“Kaya nga ‘yung kumanta before the segment na lang ang kinuha namin. It was a setback that me as a director should remedy at that point. The PRO did not inform us of her presence. Anything can happen in a live show and this is one of those moments. I was just running a show. Coordinatioon with stars was not one of my responsibilites,” he added.

However, veteran actress Divina Valencia said that it would be very hard to believe the alibi published by FAMAS organizers as they saw Eva sitting near the stage of the venue.

“Hindi ma-locate eh lahat ng mga artistang dumating, may upuang nakapangalan ng bawat nakaupo?” she said.

Veteran actress Divina Valencia couldn’t hide her disappointment in the FAMAS organizers’ explanation of why they replaced Eva Darren as one of the presenters at the last minute.

It can be recalled that Eva was suddenly replaced as the award presenter by a newbie singer, Sheena Palad, as they claimed that they couldn’t locate Eva at that time.

However, Divina said that FAMAS’ alibi was hard to believe as Eva was only sitting in front of the stage when she was suddenly replaced by Sheena.

“Hindi ko matatanggap ang dahilang napakalaking katarantaduhan na hindi makita si Ms Eva Darren,” Divina said. “Isa ciya sa mga naunang dumating. Kasama ang kanyang 4 na apo umasang makikita ang kanilang GrandMa na papanik sa stage na kasama c Mr Tirso Cruz,”

“This excuse is so narrow. It’s a big BS para lang makagawa ng dahilan matapos na saktan ninyo ang damdamin ni Ms Eva Darren kasama ang mga apo na umasa pero nasaktan,” she added.

Divina also narrated that every table has labels with the names of the guests who attended the show.

“Hindi ma-locate eh lahat ng mga artistang dumating, may upuang nakapangalan ng bawat nakaupo?” she said.

Meanwhile, Sheena said she was clueless about whether she would become a last-minute replacement for Eva despite being well-dressed that night.

“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 stated.

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.

Content creator Crissia Liaging made an explanation following the criticisms she received on social media after she was seen talking to Andi Eigenmann’s partner, Philmar Alipayo.

In a video she published on social media, Crissia insisted that she was not romantically involved with Philmar and their interaction had no other meaning since they were in a public place.

However, she admitted that her mistake was she didn’t distance herself from Philmar.

@inday.aning

“Walay flirting nahitabo mahitungod kay naa me sa public place.” Unsa man gyud sakto ani??😳🥲 #andieigenmann #philmar #habibi

♬ original sound – Inday Aning on IG 🇵🇱🇵🇭 – Inday Aning on IG 🇵🇱🇵🇭

“Hindi totoo ang inyong iniisip at hindi totoo ang mga naglalabasang isyu sa social media. Alam ko mga kaibigan na mali ko, ako rin ang naglaglag sa aking sarili,” she said. “Walang flirting na nangyari dahil nasa public place kami. At hindi ko rin ma-please si Philmar the way siya tumingin at mag-act sa akin,”

“Ang mali ko lang talaga mga kaibigan, hindi ako dumistansya. Pero ‘yang sinasabi n’yo na lumalandi ako, hindi ako lumandi dahil alam kong pamilyadong tao siya. Ang sa akin lang mga kaibigan, masyado akong na-overwhelm dahil hindi ko inakala na kilala din pala niya ako,” she added.

According to her, she and Philmar only talked about surfing, which is the latter’s profession.

It can be recalled that netizens noticed that the circulating video of Crissia and Philmar was embedded with a romantic video, which fueled the speculations that the content creator was interested in the professional surfer.

Andi already released a statement regarding the issue,

Actress Andi Eigenmann finally ended her silence over the issue surrounding her partner, Philmar Alipayo, who went viral on social media after being spotted talking to a girl in Siargao.

In a now-deleted video, content creator Crissa Liaging, who visited Siargao, was seen talking with Philmar.

Netizens noticed how Crissa and Philmar interacted despite supposedly meeting for the first time, which gained speculations about their real relationship.

@buenaglamorosa78

PHILMAR VIRAL ISSUE ANDIE EIGENMANN AND HABIBI MAIN #andieigenmann #viral #trending #calvinielsmerchandiser #calvinielsshoppe #buenaglamorosa2023 #charvinielsmerchandiser #charvinielsshoppe

♬ original sound – Lhene Kakampink🌸🌷🫰👆 – Lhene Kakampink🌸🌷🫰👆

As a response, Andi finally said that netizens should stop making an issue about everything.

“He can go out with his friends, go drinking every once in a while, and chat with whomever he wants. No harm in that,” said Andi. “What’s shameful is purposely posting and editing video to cause a stir, disturbing the peace of people and dragging them into their negativity just for some social media attention,” 

It can be recalled that netizens noticed the romantic background music used by Crissia in the video she posted with Philmar, which fueled the speculations that the content creator had a crush to the professional surfer.

As of writing, Philmar has yet to give a statement on the issue.

Meanwhile, Crissia denied that she was romantically involved with Philmar, saying that she cannot be compared to Andi’s beauty.

Content creator Tito Mars raised the eyebrows of the netizens again after he made a video about his ‘first’ ride on a jeepney.

In a video, Tito Mars recorded himself riding a jeepney, saying he was nervous because it was his first time using public transportation.

He was also asking the driver if they’re accepting cards as a payment.

“Kuya tumatanggap ba kayo ng card o kaya ng g-cash?” said Tito Mars.

“Hala, barya lang pala bayad dito,” he added.

Fortunately, Tito Mars had a 20 peso in his pocket.

“Buti nalang pala talaga madali lang magbayad sa jeep,” he said.

While e-wallets were not often accepted in traditional jeepneys, several modern versions already accept modern forms of payment, like reloadable beep cards.

The post received mixed reactions from the netizens.

“Next time naman na icontent mo Tito Mars eh sumakay ka sa padjak at tric. Tas mag inarte ka sa video. Yung pinaka OA para gigil na gigil yung nga apektado ng content mo hehehe,” netizen Heart said.

“He did a great job annoying people on social media by doing these kinds of things. Strategy for more views, more comments, more money!” netizen Marchita commented.

“Niyakap na ni tito mars yung toxic engagement sa soc med, nilamon na to ng views and pera. for the views and for the pera talaga, tinanggalan ng dignidad ang sarili, ginawang katawa-tawa kahit hindi naman siya ganon irl… para lang sa pera. gets ko naman yung ginagawa ni tito mars kasi more hate more views,” netizen Aldrin remarked.

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.