Divina Valencia on FAMAS’s apology to Eva Darren: ‘This excuse is so narrow’

Divina Valencia took to social media to air her sentiments on the apology of the Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences (FAMAS) to her fellow veteran actress, Eva Darren, following the recent awards night mishap.

Divina was among the actresses who were honored with the Iconic Movie Actress of Philippine Cinema award on Sunday night.

On her Facebook account, Divina expressed her disappointment, saying she finds FAMAS’s excuse unacceptable.

“Hindi ko matatanggap ang dahilang napakalaking katarantaduhan [na] hindi makita si Ms Eva Darren,” she said.

Divina said that Eva was one of the first attendees to arrive together with her four grandchildren, who were expecting to see their grandmother on stage alongside Tirso Cruz III.

“This excuse is so narrow,” she said. “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 said that every guest has an assigned seat, and she was sitting at table 10 with Eva and other attendees.

“Ganito talaga naman naka focus sa mga bilang ng perang kinita sa bawat isang nag dinner kasi hindi nakatuon imagine FAMAS kung sino sinong mga hindi naman taga movie industry eh mga tumatanggap ng kanya kanyang plaque,” Divina said.

She continued, “Tinatawag sa stage na nakakasilaw ang glitters ng mga gown mga gumastos kung sino sino wala namang kinalaman sa showbiz my golly holly cow.”

Divina said that the actors were used, “tapos pinahiya sinaktan ang isang Eva Darren na talagang isang icon tumanggap ng Famas na tutuong Famas.”

She urged “old timer” press people to respond to her statement.

“Nakakahiya sa anak ni Eva Darren kay Dr Fernando de la Pena... Dahilang di ko matanggap kahit 10x pa kayung mag sorry damage has been done,” she said.

FAMAS issued the apology after Eva’s son, Fernando de la Pena, called them out on Facebook and complained about his mother's experience at the ceremony.

FAMAS said that they were not able to “locate” her because they were “running a live show with myriads of people.”

Speaking to GMA News Online, Francia Conrad, the president of FAMAS, said the mishap was “nothing deliberate.”

"I feel so sad about it," Conrad continued. "Kung ako 'yon, ganun din ang mararamdaman ko. Pero hindi siya sinasadya. There was nothing deliberate."

The actress’ family then accepted the apology, recommending two things for the awards night: “Please stick to the script… and maybe a nice pair of eyeglasses for all in charge.”

The 72nd edition of the FAMAS Awards honored Piolo Pascual and Alfred Vargas, Kathryn Bernardo, Gloria Diaz, and Kapuso couple Dingdong Dantes and Marian Rivera.

— Carby Basina/CDC, GMA Integrated News