MANILA, Philippines (2nd UPDATE) – Cristine Reyes has spoken up about the issue between her and Tubig at Langis co-star Vivian Velez, after she was accused of being rude towards the veteran actress. (READ: Vivian Velez quits show, says Cristine Reyes was 'rude' to her)
Cristine posted this message on her social media accounts after commenting on the issue:
{source}<div id="fb-root"></div><script>(function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.3"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));</script><div class="fb-post" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10153959218313050&id=122010853049&substory_index=0" data-width="500"><div class="fb-xfbml-parse-ignore"><blockquote cite="https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10153959218313050&id=122010853049&substory_index=0"><p>I'd like to thank my co-star, director and our staff, specifically @TartCarlos, @DionneMonsanto, @RaymsOcampo, Boss Tet...</p>Posted by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Cristine-Reyes-122010853049/">Cristine Reyes</a> on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10153959218313050&id=122010853049&substory_index=0">Tuesday, March 8, 2016</a></blockquote></div></div>{/source}
In a statement coursed through her management, Viva Entertainment, and published on PEP, Tuesday, March 8, Cristine narrated her side of the story.
"I have always put our senior stars in high regard and do my best to treat them with much respect. In fact, I have not had any incidents like this with anyone, senior or otherwise, on the set of any project until now," she said.
According to Cristine, the entire misunderstanding started with an issue she had with a dressing room assigned to her.
"It was infested with so many mosquitos that made it very uncomfortable to stay in. I was also quite afraid of any of us getting dengue," she told PEP.
Cristine said that production staff had promised to transfer her to another dressing room. During the next taping, she was given the master bedroom of their shooting location, which then became her regular dressing room.
She said that last March 3, the executive producer asked if Vivian can share the room with her, since Vivian's assigned area was not ready.
"I of course agreed. I was fine sharing a room with any of my co-stars for as long as we have mutual respect. I would not have agreed with production if I had any ill feelings towards Ms Vivian," she said.
Cristine then recounted an occasion when she and her staff just came from a movie shoot and wanted to rest in their assigned room. However, she said that Vivian made it difficult for them to get some rest because of the commotion the veteran actress was making inside the room.
"I went out to get some air and went to where the common area for artists and production was. The EP [executive producer] asked me why I was there. I said that it was difficult to sleep with Ms Vivian inside the room."
The room issue
Later on, Vivian's dressing room was finally set up, and Cristine said that Vivian was irate upon being notified of her transfer: "From what I understand, she was first notified by the production assistants and upon being notified she threw a fit blaming me for her transfer."
"The EP [executive producer] immediately tried to pacify her but she stood her ground and continued shouting, telling everyone that I was the one booting her out of the room," she said.
Cristine later found out that the mosquito-infested tent initially assigned to her was originally Vivian's. She said, "I was not privy to this and so I fully understood what she was going through."
She asked the executive producer if she can personally explain to Vivian that she was not responsible for the transfer. However, tensions were still high, and the dialogue did not push through.
She told PEP, "To be very clear about it, I never requested anyone at any point for Ms Vivian to be transferred rooms. In fact, I gladly welcomed production’s request for her to share a room with me while her room was still unavailable."
"And despite the inconvenience I encountered while she was around, I had no intentions whatsoever of booting her out," she added.
Cristine said that she was told by the Tubig at Langis executive producer that negotiations were set to happen regarding Vivian's departure.
"Still I would’ve appreciated a resolution better because I had nothing to do with the issue of Ms Vivian's source of anger. It was the production staff that was trying to transfer her and not me," Cristine said.
Cristine also aired her side regarding another incident that Vivian raised up in a previous PEP interview. She was said to be singing Avril Lavigne's "Goodbye," which irked Vivian; however, she said that she was merely trying to ease her own stress.
However, she recounted that Vivian confronted her, shouting, "Ako ba ang pinariringgan mo!? Sino ka ba?! Superstar ka ba?!" (Were you just alluding to me?! Are you even a superstar?!)
“I got rattled at this point and I just answered her in a mild manner, ‘Kumakanta lang naman ako, masama ba kumanta?’ (I was just singing, is that bad?)"
Cristine ended her statement, apologizing to those who got involved in the issue.
"I am sorry that some gaps in the communication between the production staff, Ms Vivian, and myself escalated some issues," she told PEP, corroborating a statement from the production staff of Tubig at Langis. (READ: 'Tubig at Langis' team clarifies Cristine Reyes, Vivian Velez incident)
The statement read, "Cristine did not actually ask Vivian to leave the dressing room. There was a miscommunication and the production team wishes to take responsibility for this. In fact, the staff takes no issue with Cristine's work ethic and she has been cordial towards her colleagues. We wish to apologize to Cristine and Vivian regarding this issue."
Cristine also apologized if some of her actions were "misconstrued for rudeness," when she was merely "coping with the stressful working conditions on the set in this particular instance."
"I do have high regard for and respect with thanks senior artists who have paved the way for stars like me in the industry," she ended.
Cristine's sister Ara Mina also defended her sister, saying that she hopes the issue will be resolved soon.
Vivian previously announced on Facebook that she wished "to tender her immediate irrevocable resignation" as a cast member of Tubig and Langis, where she played Conching, the hardworking mother of Natoy, the protagonist played by Zanjoe Marudo.
After Cristine and the Tubig at Langis production team expressed their side, Vivian responded on Facebook, calling it: "WHITEWASHING as expected…"
She also wrote separately, "I'm taping my last scenes in the series right now and I feel like I'm walking in the lion's den..." – Rappler.com
Francis Joseph Cruz litigates for a living and writes about cinema for fun. The first Filipino movie he saw in the theaters was Carlo J. Caparas’ 'Tirad Pass.' Since then, he’s been on a mission to find better memories with Philippine cinema. Profile photo by Fatcat Studios
