PEP: Mark Anthony denies rumors he's back on drugs

Rumors have been going around in showbiz circles that actor Mark Anthony Fernandez is back to his old habit—drugs. According to reports, this is why Mark Anthony has allegedly been pulled out from GMA-7's telefantasya Darna, where he plays Eduardo, the love interest of Narda/Darna (Marian Rivera). But the son of Alma Moreno and the late Rudy Fernandez vehemently denied this in his interview with Q11's Tweetbiz. He said, "Siguro, parang naging stigma na yun sa akin dahil sa ginawa ko noon, pero hindi po talaga totoo yun. Masama po ang nagdodroga at napakatagal na po niya." It can be recalled that years ago Mark Anthony committed himself to rehabilitation to cure his drug addiction. After that, he returned to showbiz and successfully resumed his acting career. He was able to regain his luster by starring in several GMA-7 primetime shows, like Impostora, Kamandag, Ako Si Kim Samsoon, Luna Mystika, All About Eve and Darna. GMA-7 has also issued an official statement to dispel this rumor about Mark Anthony. The statement reads in full: "GMA Network would like to assure the fans and followers of Mark Anthony Fernandez that there is no truth to the rumor that he is into any kind of drugs. "His role though in the top-rating program Darna will be a bit shorter than originally planned to give way to Mark Anthony's upcoming projects. This decision was mutually agreed upon by the Kapuso artist and the network's Entertainment executives to give him time to rest and prepare for his movie and his new GMA program which will start taping in January 2010." Mark Anthony is slated to do a movie with former girlfriend Claudine Barretto for Viva Films and GMA Films. There is also a clamor for the two to star in a primetime series, especially now that Claudine is already a Kapuso. If it's true that the former ABS-CBN star's first primetime series on GMA-7 would be the Pinoy adaptation of the hit Koreanovela Jewel in the Palace, then Mark Anthony would be a perfect choice to be her leading man. In Darna, the management has recently added Dennis Trillo (who plays Pancho) in the cast, so Marian will still have a leading man. - Erwin Santiago, PEP