Veteran actor Ian Veneracion is considering filing a legal case against writer-director Ronaldo Carballo.

Last Tuesday, 16 January, Carballo posted on his Facebook account a claim that Veneracion’s road manager had asked P500,000 as the actor’s talent fee for two hours of participation in a parade in a Tarlac festival. The manager, Carballo said, allegedly asked for an additional P100,000 per hour if Veneracion’s presence in the event exceeded two hours.

Another supposed demand was that if Veneracion attended the festival, he should be alone in his float, with the other artists in a separate float.

Throughout the post, Carballo didn’t name the road manager.

As of writing, Carballo’s post remains on his Facebook wall, where it has garnered at least 31,000 reactions and nearly 5,000 shares from netizens.

In a statement sent to a broadsheet, the actor’s camp said Carballo’s claims were baseless and had publicly humiliated Veneracion.

Veneracion’s camp said it was considering filing raps for online defamation, along with other charges because Carballo refused to communicate and clear things up with the actor’s management.

“Rather than verifying the information (on Veneracion’s talent fee), Mr. Carballo appears to have engaged in online behavior that undermines these principles to humiliate our client and our team publicly,” the statement said.

The statement also debunked two of Carballo’s claims: The separate float for Veneracion and the additional charges for the extra two hours.

“Contrary to the claims, we did not request any additional charges. Our terms were clear, especially regarding the hours required for the event, and at no point did we ask for a solo float.”

Veneracion’s camp said it was considering filing raps for online defamation, along with other charges because Carballo refused to communicate and clear things up with the actor’s management.

“Attempts were made to contact Mr. Carballo directly to correct the misinformation he is spreading; unfortunately, he opted to block us and refuse any means of communication.”

Among Veneracion’s showbiz colleagues who spoke up on the issue was The Voice Kids Season 2 champion Elha Nympha.

The singer emphasized that talent fees should not be disclosed publicly — even in the case of a disagreement between the two parties. She said including a time limit in the clause is also necessary to avoid any abuse the event organizer may inflict on the talent.

“As an artist po, pls kung hindi niyo kami afford or di nag kasundo sa negotiation i-quiet nalang ang mouth kasi hindi po dapat dinidisclose yan in public. Also tama lang po na may time limit or may oras po na nakalagay sa clause ng contract kasi yung 2hrs na yan lalo na pag abusado ung organizer or client baka umabot ng 7hrs ‘yung [yun].”

“Again never disclose private negotiations for publicity purposes,” she stressed.