Stories about the “dirty tactics” employed by some quarters in an effort to reap major awards are commonplace and have become part of the festivities. Reporters are allegedly paid to write “praise releases” about a certain film or actor to convince the public that it is worthy of awards.
If the film or actor in question loses, this signals the spinners to work again and claim their bet was robbed of its much-deserved victory.
If you recall, the camp of ER Ejercito lobbied and campaigned heavily to win the Best Actor Award for “Asiong Salonga” in the 2011 MMFF.
Unfortunately, Ejercito lost to Dingdong Dantes of “Segunda Mano.” Ejercito tried to discredit the awards night, claiming the reason why Dantes won is because Kris Aquino was also present in the said flick.
He said he was robbed not only of the Best Actor Award, but the Best Picture Award as well. When Ejercito lost to Dantes again the following year, he kept silent this time and accepted his fate.
In another event, Ejercito’s publicist Jobert Sucaldito complained that the Philippine Movie Press Club (PMPC) gave awards in exchange for cash. He said some PMPC members approached him about this. They allegedly promised to vote for Ejercito if they were paid. However, at the awards night, Ejercito lost to Vice Ganda.
