Sacked Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) chief Arnell Ignacio, a popular singer-comedian before he became a government appointee, insisted on Friday, 23 May, that the P1.4-billion land acquisition transaction that caused his summary removal from office was legal and aboveboard.
The singer-comedian has quietly met a small group of media people mainly to make that assertion. It’s okay that we were not among them but we are impressed that he neither blamed anyone for his summary dismissal nor demanded for his reinstatement.
The small media huddle was held a week after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. appointed then-Migrant Workers Undersecretary Patricia Yvonne Caunan as new OWWA chief.
Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Cacdac had confirmed that Ignacio was removed over his involvement in an allegedly anomalous land acquisition deal that did not go through the OWWA Board of Trustees.
According to Ignacio, he was “shocked” to hear of the allegations because there were official discussions on the transaction in the Senate and the Department of Budget and Management stretching back to 2018, when he was OWWA deputy administrator under the Rodrigo Duterte administration.
“Sinunod namin ang lahat ng mga requirements, at ito ay nakapasa, nabigyan kami ng special allotment release order at nagtuloy-tuloy ang proseso hanggang sa na-acquire ‘yung lupa, (We followed all of the requirements, it was approved, and we were given a special allotment release order, and the process was smooth until we acquired the land)," Ignacio said.
He categorically said that the deal was brought up with the board, where a technical working group assessed it as well. Cacdac was involved as chairman of the board. Ignacio said that there were no missteps found, and the transaction had adhered to the right-of-way law.
Ignacio later posted on his Facebook page that they had bought the 6,499-square meter lot near Terminal 1 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Pasay to be a “paradise” for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).
The news website Rappler revealed that they found out that the piece of land was meant to be an OWWA office that would also serve as a halfway house.
Ignacio said that the Land Bank of the Philippines had assessed the value of the land, and the OWWA under his leadership had a permit from the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) to build on it. The land is also under the name of the Republic of the Philippines.
Ignacio then reportedly intoned at the media huddle: “But let me tell you, to the OFWs I have been serving, hindi ko kayo pinagtaksilan. Ginawa ko lang ito para sa inyong pagmamahal at wala po akong kinita dito (I have not betrayed you. I only did this for your love, and I did not earn anything from this).”
On the other hand, Cacdac said on Tuesday, 20 May, that the Department of Migrant Workers was eyeing filing appropriate charges related to the transaction. He has yet to respond to Ignacio’s statement as of this writing.
May the truth prevail in this alleged anomaly involving a showbiz idol who has so far served the government the longest.
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What would you do if you come home one fine night and chanced upon your partner watching porno on a gadget?
Go ballistic, that’s what Stella did. She immediately accused husband Mitch of not being happy with her in the bedroom.
Mitch’s ultimate one-sentence justification is “I want to become a real man.”
Mitch is a transman who has been longing for a sexual re-assignment but has always hesitated to tell Stella about it.
Mitch is transman Ice Seguerra and Stella is Liza Dino, his wife for 11 years now since they got married in the US on 8 December 2014.
The scene in which Stella chances upon Mitch watching a heterosexual porno was an excerpt from “Choosing,” a new edition of the two-character play they staged last year. The tighter version will be presented for two weekends between the 6th and 17th of June at the Doreen Fernandez Blackbox theater at the Arete of Ateneo de Manila University in Katipunan Avenue, Quezon City.
The play’s new edition is written by Liza, just like the first. Seguerra again contributes some monologs in the new edition. Anton Juan directs the couple again.
You’ll have watch the play to know if Stella will support the fulfillment of Mitch’s longing or she thrashes it. The play tackles other contentious issues between the couple. Those issues may be similar or entirely different from the ones floating and hovering on conventional conjugal marriages.
The young ones may not know that the couple have been separately acting in professional theater since 2002. Dino completed her AB in Theater Arts at the University of the Philippines before she became a beauty queen and film-stage actress.
Seguerra has appeared in major roles in musicals directed by the late Bobby Garcia for his Atlantis Productions. Seguerra was in one of their productions staged both in Manila and Singapore.
Meanwhile, it all looks like June this year in Pinoy showbiz will be dominated by live theater and live concert productions. There will be new musicals and straight plays aside from the runs of productions that began in April or in May.
The drag-driven “Delia D,” featuring songs written by ABS-CBN’s Jonathan Manalo, runs until 28 June at the Newport Performing Arts Theater.
The late Floy Quntos’ masterpiece “Grace” will have its final run at PETA Theater Center in Quezon City at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. on 14, 15, 21, 22, 28 and 29 June.
Seasoned actors Stella Cañete-Mendoza, Shamaine Centenera-Buencamino and Frances Makil-Ignacio reprise their roles as nuns while Matel Patayon takes on a new character.
Marynor Madamesila completes the cast of women bringing to life the true story of the supposed apparitions and miracles of Mary, Mediatrix of All Grace, which sparked a national controversy in 1948. Dexter M. Santos directs the play.
Repertory Philippines stages Yasmina Reza’s Olivier and Tony award-winning comedy “Art” for its 88th season.
The play runs at the Rep Eastwood Theater Quezon City from 13 to 22 June.
Regular shows will be at 8 p.m. from Friday to Sunday, and matinee shows at 3 p.m. on Saturday.
London-based Filipino-British actor Martin Sarreal, who appeared in season 3 of the hit Netflix series Bridgerton, joins the cast of Art, marking his Rep stage debut.
Also in the cast are Manila-based Brian Sy (Tiny Beautiful Things, Mula sa Buwan) and British Freddy Sawyer, who appeared in Apple’s TV series Trying.
Art revolves around three long-time friends Serge (Sarreal), Marc (Sawyer), and Yvan (Sy), with the comedy raising questions about art and friendship.
Victor Lirio directs and he is known for helming the company’s critically acclaimed production of Harold Pinter’s Betrayal last season.
The Broadway musical Come From Away will be staged at the Samsung Performing Arts with a Filipino-led cast, including Carla Guevara Laforteza and Chino Veguilla. The show is about events following the earth-shaking bombing of the World Trade Center in the US on 11 September 2001 and was globally referred to simply as 9/11.
Come From Away tells the story of how the residents of Gander, Newfoundland took care of 7,000 stranded travelers after 38 planes unexpectedly landed at the Gander International Airport.
The musical made its debut on Broadway in New York in 2017 and has brought home several accolades including a Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical in the same year and a Grammy nomination for Best Musical Theater Album in 2018, to name a few.
The Philippine production cast also includes Menchu Lauchengco -Yulo, Gian Magdangal, Cathy Azanza-Dy, Caisa Borromeo, Garrett Bolden, Mikkie Bradshaw-Volante, Becca Coates, Steven Cadd, Mayen Cadd, Rycharde Everly, Topper Fabregas, Sheila Francisco and George Schulze.
It’s a joint grand undertaking between GMG Productions and Stages Productions and is said to be the “perfect vehicle” to display Filipino talent, according to the latter company’s founder and theater actor Audie Gemora.
Michael Williams directs the Philippine production, with Rony Fortich as the musical director. Also joining is Joel Goldes, who was the dialect coach of the musical’s original Broadway production.
Dalaga na si Maxie Oliveros is a drag musical in June with a mix of drag queens and fresh talents. It builds on the legacy of the 2005 award-winning film Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros, and is a sequel to the 2013 stage hit Maxie the Musical.
It will run from 13 to 22 June at Illumination Studio in Makati City.
Actually, there will be a Virgin Labfest (VLF) from 11 to 29 June at the CCP’s Tanghalang Ignacio Gimenez.
Now in its 20th year, the VLF is well-loved as a festival of untried, untested and unstaged plays. This year’s edition is dubbed as Hinog! (Ripe) and will feature 12 new one-act plays and 3 revisited plays from last year, and 4 new staged readings. A total of 8 Virgin (first time to be participating in the festival) playwrights, 4 Virgin directors, 3 women playwrights, and 8 women directors constitute this year’s VLF.
Tess Jamias and Marco Viaña return as Festival Directors for the fourth year. They are joined by Sandie Javier, Clottie Gealogo-Lucero, Nice Hervas and Nikki Torres as production managers, Daniel Gregorio as assistant production manager, Rafa Lubigan and Camilo de Guzman as head stage managers, Roman Cruz and Loren Rivera as lighting designers, TJ Ramos, Angel Dayao, Arvy Dimaculangan, Nayr de Lun and Zac Capinding as sound designers, Jerome Aytona, IO Balanon, Wika Nadera and Julio Garcia as production designers, Allie Eguia as costume stylist, and GA Fallarme, Justin Santiago, Jana Jimenez and Deidrich Tanteco as video designers, with Roldan Lozano and Renz Sevilla as technical directors.
The plays to be staged are divided into 4 sets designated cheekily as Bubot (Unripened), Manibalang (Half ripe), Kinalburo (treated with lime to speed up ripening), and May Asim Pa (literally still has acid but is actually a vernacular euphemism for still potent).
One new play will have film actor Angelica Panganiban in it. Another has Bibeth Orteza paired up with Jamie Wilson. Another play will have the actor wife directing her real-life husband.
Several stage actors are billed as directors, and some seasoned directors are back into acting in this year’s VLF.
We’ll have more details on the plays and also on the staged readings. VLF is Pinoy na Pinoy so it deserves a full column treatment.