THE MISS Universe Philippines (MUPH) organization said there was no truth to the claim of trophy designer Jef Albea, who alleged that he was not paid by the former for his work.

On Facebook, the organization belied the “unfounded allegations” of Albea and stressed that they communicated with his staff regarding the matter.

The MUPH organization addressed the controversy a day after Albea claimed on Facebook that he did not get paid for the trophies he designed and crafted for the pageant’s coronation night.

“All the effort, dedication and passion I put into creating these pieces, ended up ignored and disregarded when payment was due,” said Albea, as he showed the trophies he made for the beauty competition.

The designer maintained that he would not accept “a single centavo” from the organization and said that he wanted the latter to learn that “artists deserve respect” as they poured their heart, soul, and time into their masterpieces.

“I fiercely advocate for my fellow artists with unwavering passion, not all artists can take and afford this mistreatment,” he stressed, “Please, do not let our work be taken for granted.”

Albea’s post has become viral, garnering over 45,000 shares on Facebook.

Many netizens, specifically those working in the creative industry, sympathized with the trophy designer and shared how local artists were not compensated enough as their art pieces were not valued as much.

Several online users took this opportunity to call on employers to pay their artists the right price and encouraged Albea to sue the prestigious organization.

MUPH’s response

The MUPH organization disproved the allegations that it “neither refused to pay, disregarded or ignored payment for the trophies.”

“In accordance with the standard procedure of billing for suppliers to sponsors, MUPH needs proper documentation for the said transaction,” it said.

The organization said that it was considering legal action following Albea’s accusation. It also urged the public to “refrain from spreading misinformation and have faith that the truth will ultimately prevail.”

Before this, Borg Roxas, the pageant’s program head, addressed the controversy and said that he was “surprised” by Albea’s post.

He clarified that the organization had communicated with the designer’s team and even asked them to submit a billing statement for the P75,000 payment that Albea’s assistant asked from the MUPH organization.

“Lahat ng suppliers nagpapadala ng billing statement at invoice prior to May 22 para aligned na lahat. Nauuna nabayaran yung nagpapadala agad kasi may paperwork,” Roxas explained.

He said that Albea was not included in the May 30 cutoff for payments because no proper documentation was submitted. His payment was included in the June 15 cutoff instead.

“With Sir Jef, aside from we are paying him, we are also promoting him. We never promoted any other suppliers kasi natuwa kami na he was willing to help elevate the gifts for the winners,” said Roxas. 

He added, “Nakakalungkot lang na nagpopost na agad sya na magkausap naman sila ng staff.”

Roxas said that the organization would not renege on its P75,000 balance to Albea, stressing that they initially paid him last October.

The MUPH organization introduced Albea as its official trophy designer last month. This year’s national beauty contest saw Bulacan’s Chelsea Manalo being crowned as the new Miss Universe Philippines, succeeding Michelle Dee.

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