Many Kapamilyas have wondered how the “I Feel U” host Toni Gonzaga showed her support for ABS-CBN during its shutdown.
As part of her birthday greeting to Gonzaga, Director Olive Lamasan revealed that Gonzaga gave her talent fee to retrenched ABS-CBN employees.
Firstly, Lamasan thanked the host for staying with the network during the shutdown.
“Thank you so much for staying on with us. Thank you so much for accepting I Feel U. Nung una ka naming pinakausapan gawin ang programang ito,” said Lamasan.
Then, she added that Gonzaga accepted the project despite the starting rate. She also said that Toni believed in their purpose to serve the Filipino audience.
“Sabi namin kung pe-pwede tanggapin mo ito sa starting rate namin, ni hindi kami nagdalawang salita. You readily accepted it. Believing in the purpose, believing in the objective, that we have which is maintain our presence and for us to continue serving the Filipino audience,” said Lamasan.
Finally, Lamasan revealed that Gonzaga gave her talent fee to retrenched Kapamilya employees during ABS-CBN’s shutdown.
“Hindi ko rin makakalimutan, and I am a personal witness to your generosity and selflessness. Alam nyo po mga kaibigan ito pong si Toni gave a generous portion of her talent fee if not all, di ba anak? All your talent fee para po sa mga tao, sa mga empleyado ng ABS-CBN na nawalan ng trabaho nung inorder po ng Congress na i-shutdown kami,” said Lamasan.
When Congress denied ABS-CBN’s franchise renewal causing it to shut down, the network had to retrench many of its 11,000 employees.
Many artists and talents of the network have actively voiced out their support, garnering praise from netizens. But others decided to show their support behind the scenes, just like Gonzaga.
