The Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences Awards (FAMAS) held its most recent ceremony last night, May 26, 2024. Stars from all generations gathered at the Manila Hotel to witness the event, and while the night ended on a high note for many, it was a less than favorable experience for veteran actress Eva Darren.
Her son Fernando de la Pena recounts the "debacle" she was involved in a now-viral Facebook post.
Eva Darren's Son Calls Out FAMAS for "Disrespecting" the Veteran Actress
In his Facebook post, which has already garnered over 36K reactions and 7.8K shares as of writing, Fernando narrates how his mother was invited by the FAMAS committee to present an award alongside fellow actor Tirso Cruz III months prior to the ceremony.
"Mom was excited, bought the best dress and pair of heels she could afford, and topped that with a nice package of hair and makeup 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.
However, just when Eva was supposed to present the award, another "young singer" was ushered to the stage instead of her. "My mother never went on the stage," Fernando said. Instead of Eva, it was host and performer Sheena Palad of Eat Bulaga's Bida Next who ended up being partnered with Tirso onstage.
Fernando then shared how FAMAS "had absolutely no explanations to offer, just a thousand apologies."
He wrote, "He confessed not knowing what happened and wasn’t sure why there was a last-minute change. My Mom said 'it’s okay' but decided to leave nonetheless. I couldn’t blame her. Staying around was just rubbing salt on her FAMAS-inflicted wounds."
Fernando called out FAMAS for the gaffe, writing, "You would think and assume that a 'prestigious award-giving body' who had been doing the same thing every year, over and over without fail, would have mastered their craft after 72 years. But no, not this entity."
"To all of you people behind FAMAS, you cannot do this to an icon of Philippine Cinema! It is RUDE… It is DISRESPECTFUL… It is UNETHICAL… it is UNPROFESSIONAL to say the very least!!!"
FAMAS Issues Public Apology to Eva Darren
A day after the unfortunate events unfolded, FAMAS issued a public apology to Eva. The organization cited difficulty in "locating" the actress as the reason why she was replaced on stage.
In a Facebook post, they wrote: "FAMAS would like to express its sincerest apologies to Miss Eva Darren, an icon in [the] Philippine movie industry and a professional actress whose career is indubitably worthy of emulation.
"She was part of the program in last night’s Awards Night and was supposed to present Special Citations with Mr. Tirso Cruz III."
The award-giving body states that the debacle was "not intentional and purely a misjudgment." They went on to apologize to Eva, saying that, if she allows it, the FAMAS Board would like to personally visit her in order to "honor her stature."
Who Is Veteran Actress Eva Darren?
As stated by her son, Eva is a seasoned actress who has been in the industry since the 1960s. Her breakthrough moment came with the 1969 film Ang Pulubi, for which she was granted the FAMAS Best Supporting Actress trophy.
Throughout her career, she's been a constant face in episodes of drama anthology series Maalala Mo Kaya. Eva has also acted alongside Kris Aquino in Patayin sa Sindak si Barbara, Kristine Hermosa in Pangako Sa'yo, and sisters Ara Mina and Cristine Reyes in Ate. Her most recent work include appearances in teleseryes Kadenang Ginto, The Rich Man's Daughter, and Rubi.
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