- On May 7, President Rodrigo Duterte and his partner Honeylet Avanceña hosted a private dinner for several celebrities
- Arnell Ignacio made a joke about the narco-list of celebrities at the dinner
- He also cited some instances wherein Malacañang protocol officers were having a hard time at the event
On May 7, President Rodrigo Duterte and his long-time partner Honeylet Avanceña hosted a thanksgiving dinner in Malacañang for celebrities who supported him in his campaign for the presidency in 2016.
Among the celebrities present were John Lloyd Cruz, Toni and Alex Gonzaga, Paul Soriano, Robin Padilla and wife Mariel Rodriguez, Philip Salvador, Bayani Agbayani, Michael Pangilinan, Ryan Bang, and Dulce.
Also present were celebrities whom Duterte appointed to government positions like Ice Seguerra and wife Liza Diño, Jimmy Bondoc, Cesar Montano, and Arnell Ignacio. Diño is still heading the Film Development Council (FDCP), while Bondoc is PAGCOR’s vice president for entertainment. Seguerra, Montano, and Ignacio, on the other hand, resigned from their posts for different reasons.
Arnell Ignacio, former OWWA official, revealed some details about what happened at Duterte’s private dinner.
During a recent radio interview, he said that it was true that he and comedienne Ai-Ai Delas Alas made a joke that the highlight of the dinner was going to be a reveal of the list of celebrities allegedly involved in the illegal drug trade.
“Biru-biruan namin ni Ai-Ai (Delas Alas) yun,” Ignacio laughingly said.
“Lahat kasi sila nagtatanong. Eh tanong sila nang tanong bakit sila naimbita. Eh kami ni Ai-Ai ang magkasama. So, nagbibiro kami na alam mo kaya naimbita kasi dito ia-announce ang ano..ang narco-list,” he added.
He added that they also joked that one of the suspected narco-celebrities was supposedly among the Palace guests.
“Kami kami lang yun, wala pa si presidente dun. Pero I’m sure matatawa rin yun eh. Baka nga magbiro pa yun. Kasi ang daming nagtataka bakit sila naimbita. Kaya niloloko namin na dito i-a-announce,” he said.
Then, he also shared several instances wherein the Malacañang protocol officers had a hard time handling celebrities during the event.
“Ang nakakatuwa pang eksena dun, ang Malacañang, lalo na yung sa Malacañang protocols, hindi sanay sa maingay, lipatan nang lipatan ng silya, tsikahan nang tsikahan,” he said.
“Yun pa ang nakakatawa, ang daming upo nang upo dun sa upuan ng presidente. Tapos, lapit na naman sila, ‘Ah hindi po puwede diyan kay presidente po diyan.’ ‘Ay sorry, sorry,’ sabi nila. Ang daming nauupo dun sa upuan ni presidente,” Ignacio revealed.
Ignacio said that it was unclear to everyone what the private dinner was for and why they were invited. It was only when Avanceña delivered her speech that he and the other guests understood that it was meant to express the president’s gratitude to the celebrities.
“Si Presidente…alam mo ang nakuha kong impression dun, parang nagpapasalamat si Presidente na ang daming mga artistang hindi sumusuporta sa kanya, gusto niyang pasalamatan itong grupo na nagbigay ng suporta sa kanya,” Ignacio concluded.
Mocha Uson was not present at the event and Ignacio said that the reason for her absence was unknown.