THE STAR-STUDDED 72nd Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences (FAMAS) awarding ceremony concluded over the weekend—but not without controversy.

The event was held at the Manila Hotel on Sunday, May 26, which saw actors from different generations getting recognized because of their outstanding performances in their respective projects.

Seasoned Filipino actress Eva Darren attended the event and was supposed to be an awards presenter alongside veteran actor Tirso Cruz III. However, the plan did not push through.

This brought frustration to Fernando de la Pena, Darren’s son, who called out the organizers of the 72nd FAMAS awarding ceremony for their alleged “last-minute” replacement of the veteran actress.

In a lengthy Facebook post, de la Pena narrated how “excited” her mother was after learning that she would be one of the presenters of the prestigious awards ceremony. 

After all, the last time Darren attended a FAMAS event was in 1969, when she won the coveted Best Supporting Actress award for her role in the film “Ang Pulubi (The Beggar),” he said. 

De la Pena narrated how his mom prepared for the event. Darren bought a dress and a pair of heels, availed a package of hair and make-up, and even paid P5,000 per plate to accommodate her three grandchildren whom she brought with her to the ceremony.

Darren also made sure that she “memorized and rehearsed her script to perfection” and braved the typhoon just so she could attend the awarding ceremony.

Despite her efforts, it was not Darren who went up on stage with Cruz to present an award but an “upcoming young singer,” according to de la Pena.

“My mother never went on the stage,” he said.

De la Pena then said that the FAMAS’ PR officer, who had been in constant communication with Darren prior to the awarding ceremony, could only offer “a thousand apologies” and not any explanation for the mishap.

“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,” said de la Pena.

He stressed that such an incident was “rude,” “disrespectful,” “unethical,” and “unprofessional.”

“I can think of a hundred other words to describe what FAMAS did to my mother, even contemplated on legal actions for a second or two. But my sister, a devout Christian, told me to leave it to the hands of God. And so I will,” he wrote.

Meanwhile, netizens sympathized with the veteran actress and urged the organizers to apologize to Darren and explain the mishap.

‘Purely a misjudgment’

On Monday, the organizers of the FAMAS awarding ceremony apologized to Darren, explaining that her last-minute replacement was done because their team could not “locate” her.

“The production team was not able to locate Ms. Darren,” they claimed. “This was indeed a setback in the live show and a negligence on the part of the team.”

They said that the last-minute replacement for the actress “was not intentional and purely a misjudgment,” stressing that the show was streamed live which is why they had to immediately look for another presenter at the event.

“We are writing this with a heavy heart especially after hearing that Miss Darren and her family were terribly hurt by this unintentional disregard to her presence and stature. We truly value Miss Darren and the rest of the veteran stars present last night true to the Homecoming Concept of the show,” the organizers said.

While the “damage” cannot be undone, the organizers said they are committed to “make amends” and “rebuild” Darren’s trust with a personal visit from the FAMAS Board, if she allows it.

‘Young singer’ speaks up

Meanwhile, Sheena Palad, the “young singer” who replaced Darren, posted a video on social media to explain her side of the story, clarifying that she had no hand in the sudden change of awards presenters in the ceremony.

According to Palad, she was initially invited to perform two songs during the event’s dinner portion. What happened next was that a staff member approached Palad while she was on standby backstage and asked if she could present an award on stage.

“Nung naka-standby, nakaupo po ako, pinuntahan po ako ng staff. Nung pinuntahan po ako nung staff sabi niya, ‘Sheena, can we ask a big favor from you?’ Sabi ko, ‘Yes, what’s that?’ Tapos sabi niya, ‘Can you present the awards?’ Sabi ko, ‘Ah okay, sige sige, no problem,’” she narrated in the clip.

Palad clarified that she had no idea that Darren was supposed to present the award.

“Actually, nung time na ‘yon I was clueless, hindi po kasi ako nanonood nung awards night because I was in the holding area. So, hindi ko po alam paano mag-present,” she explained.

She added that she was not able to read the script for the awards presentation and that she was only following instructions.

“Ang instruction lang po sa akin is, ‘Sheena, you’re gonna present after you sing the production number,’ which is the movie OSTs. So, sabi ko, ‘Okay po. Sige po.’ So sabi niya, ‘Once you’re done with the production, punta ka na doon sa gilid and Sir Tirso will be with you.’ So sabi ko, ‘Okay, sige po,’” she continued.

The singer also revealed that she has been “harassed, maligned, called names and thrown offensive accusations” after the incident.

“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 wrote in the caption.

The awarding ceremony ended with Kathryn Bernardo bagging her first FAMAS Best Actress award for her performance in the movie “A Very Good Girl.” Meanwhile, Piolo Pascual and Alfred Vargas shared the Best Actor award for their roles in the films “Mallari” and “Pieta,” respectively.