Becky Aguila details Angel's transfer (Part 1)

"As soon as Angel gets back, we're signing," announced Becky Aguila, Angel Locsin's manager, last Friday, August 3, in a press conference held at ABS-CBN's Training Room.

"It's official. Angel's move from GMA-7 to ABS-CBN is no longer just a mere option. "That was a decision that we have already made," said Becky.

AN ANGEL IS BORN. Angel's father, Angel Colmenares, narrated, "I was the one who

suggested [her screen name] because her name is Angelica Colmenares. When we signed a contract with Becky, she was a minor then, I was the one who signed it. We thought of a name, a screen name for her. Since my mother was a Locsin-Montelibano, we decided to give her the screen name ‘Angel Locsin’ because ‘Angelica Colmenares’ is too long."

The name stuck. Soon enough, Angel started appearing in the youth-oriented show Click. Becky had an agreement with Artist Center—the talent management arm of GMA-7 headed by Yda Henares—to co-manage the budding young actress.

Becky explained, "We had a regular show that time, Click. Kinausap ako ni Miss Gigi Santiago na, ‘Tatlo ang talents mo diyan, si Karen delos Reyes, Diane Delfin, Angel Locsin. Nag-i-start pa lang si Miss Yda, suportahan mo naman. Para magka-suportahan kayo, bigay mo ‘yong tatlo. Mag-co-manage kayo.'

"I said yes kasi kung ano ang mai-improve sa mga alaga ko at mapapangalagaan at dalawa kaming magkakatulungan, wala namang problema doon."

Indeed the relationship was beneficial for both parties. Angel was given the top projects—Mulawin, Darna, Majika, and Asian Treasures—and GMA-7 had a certified star.

"Wala naman kaming problema sa mga projects kasi talaga namang overwhelming ang suporta nila [GMA-7] kay Angel. And we truly appreciate that. Maraming artista ang gustong malagay sa posisyon ni Angel dahil lahat naman ng magagandang show, 'yong big-budgeted show, sa kanya napupunta. And we really appreciate Artist Center and Ma'am Wilma for prioritizing Angel sa big-time soaps nila," admitted Becky.

SHOWBIZ ADOBO. What seemed to be a symbiotic relationship turned sour somewhere along the way. Artist Center handled Angel's schedule, a schedule that Becky opposed.

Becky explained, "Di ba, nagkaroon kami ng gap ni Angel for almost two years? I'm the one who took over with Artist Center, so kung ano ang latag ng schedule sa bata, ‘yon ang sinusundan namin.

"Iyon [schedule] talaga that's the number one concern ni Daddy, being the father, and Angel naman, being the daughter, they want to spend time. May edad na si Daddy. Gusto ni Angel over the weekend, makapag-bonding silang mag-ama at magkaroon sila ng mas magandang relationship na magkakapatid because there's Angelo and Ella. Aside from that, gusto niyang magkaroon ng time for herself aside from what she is doing.

"Di ba, kahit naman sino, pag bigyan mo ng adobo from Monday to Sunday nagsasawa ka?"

Becky added that Angel is also venturing into business. Angel is teaming up with a group of young entrepreneurs in putting up her very own sportswear line called Angel Active. This was mainly why Angel took up a short course in fashion design at the London School of Fashion.

"Angel is already 22," Becky said. "She is a high school graduate. Angel's dad and I, we discussed this a long time ago that she needs to move on, get an education. There was this opportunity for a business, a sportswear business, which we thought will be good for Angel."

"When she comes home from her two weeks [sic] course fashion designing, she's going to take up business entrepreneurship. This is also in line with her business.

"May na-chismis na mayroon daw siyang financier or boyfriend na ang pangalan ay Joel Tan. I already asked an apology doon sa father niya, si Lucio Tan. Hindi naman po totoo iyon. And there's no Joel Tan here, Joel Santos [mayroon].

"Actually, si Angel, hindi pa niya gaano kilala nang lubusan ang business partners niya dahil nga sa araw-araw na pagtratrabaho niya, I was the one who was really negotiating with these guys. Si Joel Santos kasi is identified with Vivian Tan. Vivian Tan is a business partner of East Asia Entrepreneurship na sa anak ni Lucio Tan. So akala niya, Joey Tan and Lucio Tan pareho iyon."

DEAL OR NO DEAL. Angel's contract stipulated a five-year co-management deal with Artist Center, which expired on March 31, 2007. Prior to the expiry of the contract, GMA-7's Senior Vice President Wilma Galvante presented an offer to Angel to renew the said contract.

Becky recounted: "Before March 31, pinatawag ng management si Angel prior to her departure to Bangkok. I think that was around March 13. Nilapit sa kanya ‘yong panibagong kontrata...

"Kinausap siya [ni Wilma] and Angel was being asked to sign, but Angel said, ‘Tita, kausapin ninyo muna si Tita Becky.' So when Angel got back, she told me and Daddy, ‘May pinapapirmahan na kontrata, but I didn't sign kasi I really wanted you to take a look at it.'

"Nag-set-up sila ng appointment for me. Ako naman because I was also busy with Angels at that time nagkita kami ni Ma'am Wilma March 27, a few days before the expiration of the contract, and diniscuss niya sa akin ‘yong contents ng contract.

"There were some concerns regarding the renewal and I told her that I'll bring it home first and show it to my lawyer and show it to Angel's father—for Angel's father to check with their lawyer as well. Sabi niya, ‘Pag okay na, balik mo na lang iyan dito.'

"During our conversation, nag-pop-out ‘yong question ko, ‘Can we no longer renew with Artist Center.' Kasi that was our outmost concern, e. Sabi niya at that time, ‘Hindi, kasi si Angel, we created Angel. Angel is an Artist Center baby so you have to renew with us.'

"[Sabi ko] ‘Is there a possibility that we can have a similar contract as Richard?' But I didn't specify about talent fee. And she said, ‘No, kasi iba naman ang kaso ni Richard. Kasi Richard is not really from this station, but Angel started with this station.'

"So I did ask Ma'am Wilma kung puwede bang, let's say, ayusin ang schedule, kung puwede ba kaming magkaroon ng regular taping schedule, ‘yong masusunod na this time. Sabi niya, ‘She can go naman to school, provided na she will bring naman her assignments and then just do her homework either sa taping or kung ano ‘yong available day na puwede siya.'

"The most important part there was that parang hindi siya sure kung four or three... Hindi niya mai-commit sa amin kung ano ang regular taping days ni Angel.

"I brought it home and discussed it with Angel's dad and Ella. I made Ella read the contents of the contract. We all decided na ‘wag na lang munang pumirma sa Artist Center.

"A few weeks later, natapos na ang contract, dumaan na ang March 31. Naging very busy na ako [sa Angels] dahil first venture ko iyon. I was working on Angels as P.A. [production assistant], as overall, supervising the movie. It was very important for me na tumutok. So hindi ko agad nabalikan si Ma'am Wilma. We were actually preparing a letter for her para to inform her na we are not signing the contract because nga we don't agree with the co-manage anymore."

Becky clarified that the decision not to renew the co-management contract was not because she wanted the commission for herself.

"Hindi naman dahil gusto ko ma-solo ang kumisyon. That's very unfair on my part. I've been sharing my commission from day one," she argued.

She explained the co-management deal, "In the past, pag regular show, manager lang ang kumukuha. Kumukuha lang sila [Artist Center] sa guesting, 12.5 percent for them and 12.5 percent for me, or kahit sinong involved sa Artist Center.

"Recently naglabas sila, I think that was last year, June, ng memo na effective that June, kukuha na sila ng 12.5 percent, so wala nang 20 percent ang manager or whatever is stipulated in a manager's contract doon sa talent na nasa Artist Center. So naghahati na talaga, mainly because sila daw ang nagbibigay ng mga projects so entitled na silang kumuha ng porsiyento. Kumbaga sa kanila galing iyong project, e. All the endorsements of Angel, they got 12.5 percent. Naghahati kami."

The contract expired, but still there was no word from Angel's camp. Yda Henares of Artist Center called Becky's attention.

"Yda called me, ‘Beck, what's happening? Bakit hindi mo binabalikan si Ma'am Wilma? She's waiting. You better tell her kung ano ang desisyon niyo.'

And I did tell her na I'm preparing a letter pa for [Ma'am Wilma] and I will advise her na we are no longer signing up with Artist Center. Pero kako, ‘Yda, kahit na anong pumasok, like ‘yong sa commercials, tuloy pa rin tayo. Basta we will honor all the contracts that are existing at kung mag-renew pa ‘yong endorsement na iyon, sige-sige pa rin. Tuluy-tuloy pa rin ang endorsement namin.'

Sabi niya, ‘Why don't you call her and talk to her [Wilma] na lang?'

"And Redgie Magno [GMA-7 production manager] also called me and I did tell her about my decision, our decision, that we are no longer signing with Artist Center. So after a few weeks, kinatok ulit ako ni Redgie, ‘Kamusta ka na? Why haven't you seen Ma'am Wilma? Kung ano man ang pinaplano mo, sabihin mo na sa kaniya...' I think that was around May na.

"Nasabi ko, ‘O sige, I'll set up an appointment.' Sabi niya, ‘Whatever you have in mind, you better tell her kasi you're making her wait.' Sabi ko, ‘It's not my intention to make her wait. It's just that hindi ko pa natatapos ‘yong letter.'

"Hindi pa namin matapos-tapos ‘yon kasi nga we didn't know how to tell her because she's really expecting us to sign with Artist Center and I really didn't want to break Ma'am Wilma's heart and siyempre doon nga naman nagsimula si Angel.

"Out of utang na loob, naghahati ang emotions namin. Should we or should we not? We were in the process of analyzing everything.

"After that, May 10, nag-set-up ako ng appointment kay Ma'am Wilma and doon na kami mismo pumunta sa bahay niya, kami ni Daddy. Nakarating na siyempre sa kanya na hindi na kami pipirma with Artist Center. We did not discuss a new contract dahil nauna ang tanong tungkol sa Marimar. Sabi niya, ‘We have a project for Angel. It's Marimar.'"

Marimar was a hit telenovela in the 90's, top-billed by Mexican sensation Thalia. Hoping to revive the craze, GMA-7 bought the rights to the series.

MARIMAR. The offer to play the title role was first offered by GMA-7 executive Wilma Galvante to Angel Locsin, claims Becky Aguila.

On May 10, Becky had a meeting with Wilma Galvante together with Angel's father, Angel Colmenares.

Becky recounted, "Sabi namin sa kanya [Wilma], ‘We would have to beg off sa Marimar kasi Angel, at this point, is really exhausted.' I think naman with the hard work that Angel has been doing, she deserves naman a break.

"Sabi niya, ‘Kung hindi niya tatanggapin, magiging open kami for auditions.' Sabi ko, ‘Ma'am whatever is necessary.' Kasi mayroon silang parang six months na parang binili nila ‘yong rights na iyon so kailangan nilang gamitin ‘yon. So talagang ang naging conflict that time was the schedule, kaya hindi rin namin natanggap ang Marimar kasi nakapalano na ‘yong bakasyon ni Angel, ‘tsaka ‘yong sa London school niya.

"And then sabi niya, ‘O sige. Okay na iyan.' Wala kaming diniscuss tungkol sa any contract at all. Daddy was with me that time.

"So sabi niya [Wilma], ‘Just be careful kasi baka ‘yong pag-announce ninyo niyan ma-misunderstood. So make sure that you don't take it as a vacation dahil madaming artista diyan na pag nawawala, hindi na makabalik-balik kasi ang tagal nawala. So make sure that you treat it as just for school.' Ginuide naman niya ako kung anong sasabihin."

Still, Angel's non-renewal of the contract with GMA-7's talent arm, Artist Center, was not discussed, admitted Becky.

"I did tell her na, ‘Ma'am, di ba expired na ‘yong contract so we had our other options and basta when we come back from our trip sa States, you will be the first one to know.' Iyon ang binitawan kong salita and ‘yon din iyong binitawang salita ni Daddy kay Ma'am Wilma. And then, we left," Becky said.

She added, "A few days later, I received an e-mail from her. She did not mention anything about a network contract. It has something to do with tax, which I'm not too familiar with.

"I texted her back and I said, ‘Sagsag na ang taping ng Asian Treasures and Angel is very tired. Umiiyak na ‘yong bata.' Sabi niya, ‘Konting tiis na lang kasi patapos na iyan.' And whatever internal problems they were having at that time, during the taping, sabi niya, ‘Lilipas din naman iyan. Konting tiis na lang.'

"We just exchanged e-mails. There was nothing or there was no offer at that time. Usapan lang talaga."

REGAL TIES. In addition to her already "full schedule," as Becky said, of Asian Treasures taping and commercial shoots, Angel also committed to doing a movie with Dennis Trillo, under Regal Films. The movie outfit's matriarch, Lily Monteverde, postponed the production of the film to accommodate Angel's schedule.

"Kasi prior sa pagtatapos ng Asian Treasures, gusto kasi ni Mother [Lily] na simulan na ‘yong movie with Dennis," explained Becky.

"Nagtampo na nga sa akin si Mother noon kasi pinangako ko daw ‘yong June schedule, which was really impossible, mainly because punong-puno na nga si Angel. Saan ako hahanap ng schedule e wala na talaga kaming paglalagyan? And kung tinuloy pa namin ‘yon baka ospital na ang bagsak ng bata. So I said, I told Mother that time, ‘Mother, pagbalik na lang, ipa-prioritize namin kayo.'"

Becky said that a news items would later come out against Angel because of this.

Becky's response to the report: "[Ang sabi] noong time na nabigyan sa ng break sa Regal, parang nagmamakaawa, tapos ngayon na mayroon na, parang pinahihirapan [ang Regal], ayaw daw sumagot ng telepono. Angel talaga has the habit of not really answering the phone kasi she's always doing something. Imagine, sa dami ng nagte-text sa kanya pati pag nagtratrabaho siya, how can she answer all these calls? Because I'm the manager naman, Mother can always call me."

ANGEL IN DISGUISE? "Prior to our not signing, we already received negative feedbacks about Angel. Even before, I don't know who brought out the issue, but we already heard it from a source. We are already aware of what was happening," revealed Becky.

Becky said that the negative publicity came out during the promo of Angels, a movie that Angel and Becky produced.

She narrated: "We were having so many presscons already just to somehow control the negative publicity that were coming out naman [about] Angel...

"Siyempre as a manager, the only thing I could advise my alaga is, ‘Huy! Bakit may mga ganyang comments, kasi mayabang daw ako... Ikaw rin daw, tapos difficult daw tayo. Tapos lumaki na daw ang ulo. Gel, ingat lang kasi we don't want to intimidate them, baka magalit sila sa atin and that's not good.'

"Kasi nga wala na kaming contract at that time. It was their opinion. We took it lightly. What hit us most talaga is nung nag-leak out na. That particular presscon, iyong grand presscon, may grupo na nagsabi sa kanya na ganito ang feedback sa kanya.

"Doon talaga naapektuhan si Angel kasi bakit lumabas iyon? Bakit may mga ganoong lumalabas na issues about her? Samantalang nung time na existing pa ang contract namin, wala naman kaming naririnig na ganoon. So parang nagdamdam ang bata. In fact, nag-hyperventilate siya, e, nung araw na iyon. She was really so stressed.

"After two days, pumunta siya sa bahay ni Ma'am Wilma to ask... Humingi siya ng tulong. ‘Tita, bakit ang daming negative publicities na lumalabas sa akin?' Sabi niya, ‘Siguro dahil sa pag-alis mo papuntang London, hindi mo pagtanggap sa Marimar, hindi mo pag-sign ng contract, etcetera etcetera. Iyan ‘yong naging dahilan pero sige aayusin natin iyan.'

"I think that time, correct me if I'm wrong, in-offer na naman sa kanya iyong Artist Center contract. Pinapipirma sa kanya, but Angel begged off again... actually hindi niya sinabi sa akin na nagpunta siya kay Ma'am Wilma, but she was really bothered by all these negative publicities that were coming out.

"Naayos din naman ni Ma'am Wilma iyon through an article in the Inquirer. In fact, Ma'am Wilma called me in Bangkok during the shoot of Head and Shoulder [sic]. She said, ‘O ayan na ang sinasabi ko sa ‘yo, may nangyayari pa na nag-divulge ka ng plano-plano mo, eventually that will catch up on you and the press will pick up on that. Ang mangyayari diyan magiging negative iyan for Angel pero don't worry sinagot ko na iyan and hopefully it will clear everything about that monster issue.'

"So noong lumabas ‘yong article na iyon, tamang-tama naman may lumabas naman na ibang articles na sobra rin namang damaging for Angel. So parang, nagpatung-patong talaga...

"Iyon na iyong tungkol sa production ng Asian Treasures, ‘yong sa staff director, and ‘yong tungkol doon sa make-up artist. All those issues about sa Asian Treasures na parang nag-bully ‘ata si Angel, which is something not true naman. Kung siguro man, iyong sigaw issue, if in any way na mayroon siyang nasigawan siguro gawa na lang ng pagod kasi kasagsagan na nga ng Asian Treasures.

"The point here [is] we're all human naman. We're not perfect. And siguro kahit kayo naman pag napapagod kayo, minsan umiinit ang ulo ninyo. We're not saying na she didn't do it or, as far as Angel is concerned, di naman daw niya ginawa dahil tinanong ko, e. And regarding naman sa make-up artist, wala naman kaming alam na make-up artist na umalis na siya ang naging dahilan. Although may make-up artist siya na umalis dahil nagkaroon ng gap sa production, but it wasn't really Angel who was the cause of it.

"So eventually, iyong negative write-ups na iyon that happened during the time na wala kaming bahay, wala kaming Marimar, kung baga all those lumabas habang wala kaming kasiguraduhan kung saan kami pupunta."

Becky revealed that there was already a strain in her relationship with Wilma.

"Nagkaroon kami ng gap ni Ma'am Wilma because nga kahit naayos na iyong sa Inquirer, sige-sige pa rin iyong mga negative issues. Somehow, siguro nagkasamaan kami ng loob na sabi ko, ‘Why are these coming out at this time that Angels is just about to show and then Angel doesn't have a definite plan pa kung ano ba talaga, no?' Hindi ko na gaano ie-explain iyon. Basta nagkaroon ng irritation between us and parang I was incommunicado again," she said.

DISTRESS. It had been weeks since Angel's contract expired. Even after several meetings, there was still no formal word from Angel's camp if they were indeed choosing not to renew their contract with GMA-7.

"Ma'am Wilma called up Daddy [Mr. Colmenares]. Tumawag siya kay Daddy and that was the time na she told Daddy nga some things about me. She offered, ‘If you want something like Richard Gutierrez's contract, we can have that naman, so we need to sit down on this and we need to talk to you.' Sabi ni Daddy, ‘I need to discuss this with Angel and of course, Becky,'" narrated Becky.

She continued, "Ma'am Wilma was very vocal na nagagalit na siya sa akin dahil hindi niya ako [ma-contact]. Iyon na nga I was busy, nangangarag ako sa Angels. Parang hindi ko siya masyadong nabibigyan ng pansin but because of the irritants that were coming out parang how can I come to you, e, tayo ngang dalawa hindi tayo matapos-tapos sa mga issue regarding sa mga write-ups na iyan.

"Came now the meeting, which was requested by Miss Redgie Magno, she texted me, ‘Miss Annette Gozon would like to talk to you, Angel, and your lawyer.' We said yes.

"That's the Shangri-la [meeting], but we were only expecting Miss Annette [daughter of Atty. Gozon, part-owner of GMA-7], but apparently when we entered into the room, there was Ma'am Wilma, Miss Redgie, Jerry Baca, and Miss Annette.

"Si Miss Annette nakatrabaho lang namin sa films and hindi naman kami nagkaroon ng one-on-one personal relationship with her. So we wanted to have that chance to talk to her and share our sentiments. Go deeper and hindi naman sumbong, kumbaga sabihin sa kanya kung anong nararamdaman namin, kung bakit ganito ang situation ngayon, but we didn't have that opportunity...

"It ended up okay naman, but it flushed out some of our differences, like ito raw ‘yong binato namin, ito naman ang mga binato nila sa amin. Kung baga it's exchanging of mga batuhan namin, ayos naman iyon.

"But then sabi nila, ‘What are you going to say? Angel is going to leave for the States tomorrow.' And I told her na, ‘Ganoon pa rin ang stand namin na we will think things over and when we get back, you will be the first one to know.'

"They offered to have like a joint statement para matapos na ito, para ma-clear na. Sabi namin, ‘Tsaka na lang, pagbalik na lang namin.' We left na okay.

"Mayroon na talagang problema na hindi nga namin nasabi doon sa meeting dahil feeling nga namin parang it was supposed to be a meeting with Miss Annette but it turned out to be a group meeting." - to be continued
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