In an exclusive interview with PEP.ph on Monday, March 15, former Kapamilya actress Maja Salvador revealed her turning down a teleserye offer from ABS-CBN.
Maja revealed that after ABS-CBN allowed her to join Johnny ‘Mr. M’ Manahan in Sunday Noontime Live (SNL) on TV5, she was then offered to do Kahit Minsan Lang.
“And then, after ilang mga weeks, dun na ino-offer yung serye.
“Yung serye ni Bea to be exact. Serye po ni Bea Alonzo,” Maja added.
It was initially pitched to Bea Alonzo with Richard Gutierrez as the leading man. However, Bea declined to do the teleserye due to COVID-19 restrictions.
“So pinitch sa akin, pinakinggan ko. And I’m interested. I said yes,” the actress-dancer said.
However, Maja had to choose between SNL and Kahit Minsan Lang, which raised a conflict.
“Nag-yes ako, but siyempre may mga terms na hindi napagkasunduan,” Maja said.
It was because the offer came with the condition that she would not be able to do SNL.
“Ano po ‘yon? ‘Yun ay siyempre, kung gagawin ko siya, baka hindi ko magawa ‘yung show ni Mr. M, ‘yung SNL.
“And I understand ABS, ‘di ba, kung bakit hindi ko kailangan gawin ‘yung show ni Mr. M kung gagawin ko ito. I’m sure naintindihan niyo din po iyon,” she explained.
According to Maja, she told ABS-CBN executives that she could not renounce her previous commitment to accept SNL, in which Mr. M worked as the director and creative consultant.
“Ang sabi ko lang, ‘Nakapag-yes na ako kay Mr. M. Paano naman po yung word of honor ko? Siyempre ayoko naman i-break ‘yung heart ni Mr. M,” the 32-year-old actress said.
She also mentioned that after a few cycles of SNL if Bea’s teleserye is still available and no one is portraying yet, she can do it.
Maja did not expect that the plan of lending her to a block-timer show would lead to her eventual departure from the Kapamilya network because she chose SNL.
She also stressed that she did not turn down ABS-CBN’s teleserye offer.
“So, ‘yun siya. Hindi ko siya tinanggihan,” Maja said about the offer. “Nagkataon lang na napunta tayo sa ganitong sitwasyon. Ako po, nanindigan lang ako sa pag-yes kay Mr. M.”
Maja Salvador is now a freelancer with no exclusive contract in any TV network.
When asked about the possibility of working on a project with ABS-CBN again, she answered, “Kung may offer po, bakit po hindi?”
