‘Young singer’ Sheena Palad issues statement following Eva Darren-FAMAS incident

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Eva Darren was supposed to present Special Citations with Tirso Cruz III at the 72nd Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences’ (FAMAS) awarding ceremony last Sunday. But when the time came, veteran actress was surprised to see Tirso up the stage with a young singer instead.

That young singer is Sheena Palad, who decided to also air her side after FAMAS apologized to Eva and her family, following her son Dr. Fernando de la Pena's post on Facebook making the awarding mishap known.

In a video statement, Palad was joined by her boyfriend, Johann Enriquez, who also took part in the awards night as a host.

“We are extending our deepest empathies to the family of Madam Eva Darren. Whatever happened po, talagang we feel sorry about it,” Enriquez said. He made clear that Palad had nothing to do with what happened.

According to the couple, Palad was invited to the event to perform during the dinner, where she sang two songs.

While she was on standby, a staff member approached her backstage.

“Sabi niya, ‘Sheena, can we ask a big favor from you?’ Sabi ko, ‘Yes, what’s that?’ Tapos sabi niya, ‘Can you present the awards?’” Palad narrated.

“‘Yun lang po ‘yung alam ko. Hindi ko po alam na si Miss Eva ‘yung magpe-present po. Actually, nung time na ‘yon, I was clueless, hindi po kasi ako nanonood nung awards night because I was in the holding area, so hindi ko po alam paano mag-present,” she continued.

Palad recalled being so nervous that she mispronounced German Moreno’s name.

“I hope that you are enlightened with the situation,” she said.

Enriquez also called out the bashers, asking them to stop because his girlfriend is “totally innocent.”

“I think Sheena is very much in pain right now because of all the bashings and all the hate that you are throwing at her,” he said.

He continued, “Bilang isa sa mga taong nagmamahal kay Sheena, nakikiusap po ako na kung puwede po, itigil niyo na po ‘yung pang-ja-judge and pang-he-hate and pangba-bash kay Sheena because wala po talaga siyang kinalaman doon sa nangyari. She’s totally innocent. She was just following instructions. She was just doing her job.”

It was de la Pena's Facebook post that alerted the FAMAS organization. Speaking to GMA News Online over the phone, Francia Conrado, the president of FAMAS, said she also only found out about the mishap on Facebook Monday morning.

"Apparently, hindi siya nahanap ng ushers," Conrado explained.

FAMAS has since apologized to Eva and her family and said it was “indeed a setback in the live show and negligence on the part of the team” and that what happened “was not intentional and purely a misjudgment."

On Facebook Tuesday, the actress’ family accepted the apology, recommending two things for the award-giving body: “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, to name a few.

— Carby Basina/LA, GMA Integrated News

This article ‘Young singer’ Sheena Palad issues statement following Eva Darren-FAMAS incident was originally published in GMA News Online.