Eagle Riggs makes HOT comments against GMA!

In an interview with pep.ph, Eagle Riggs talked about his removal from the Unang Hirit cast.

What happened?
"Hindi naman parang nilayasan talaga, kasi raw magre-reformat sila. So, hindi na ako isinama sa pagre-reformat. Pero ang siste, may mga tanong ako sa kanila [management] na hindi nila masagot. Like sabi ko, 'Bakit ako hindi isasama? Ano ang problema sa akin?' Siyempre kahit sino naman ay yun ang gusto mong malaman, yung sa craft mo kasi, e."

"Mayroon silang ibinibigay na kapalit, yung Chika Minute Explosive na bago ko oohan ay nawala na pala sa ere. Kasi, hindi siya explosive, walang kakuwenta-kuwenta yung ibinibigay nilang programa!"

What is he most pissed about?
"Sa sistema. Kasi parang... ganoon ba yun? Pagkatapos kong magsilbi nang matagal, na naging loyal ka, wala akong ibang shows na tinanggap kundi Unang Hirit lang for the past nine years, tapos bakit ganoon? All of a sudden, parang, 'We don't need you anymore.'

So what can he say about the Kapuso network?

"Ang Kapuso Network pala ay walang puso. In a way, nakapagsisisi dahil wala palang sukli yung loyalty mo, e. Hindi pala importante 'yon. So sana nga gumawa na lang ako ng kalokohan, ganoon din lang pala ang mangyayari, para may napala pa ako. Nagnakaw na lang sana ako sa kumpanya."

"Hindi nila [GMA-7] alam ang salitang puso. It's not loyalty, e, yung commitment mo sa isang tao, bilang tao. Hindi yung parang ang trato sa talent ay parang isang bagay lang na basta-basta itinatapon."


Will he go back to ABS-CBN?
"Puwede, kasi kilala ako ng mga dati kong kasamahan sa Channel 2. Alam nila kung anong klaseng trabaho ang ibinibigay ko at alam din ng mga taga-Channel 7 'yon, hindi nila puwedeng i-deny yun. Actually, dapat pinapahalagahan natin ang mga taong ganoon, e. Kaya hindi rin ako natatakot bumalik sa Channel 2 dahil alam nila yung ability ko."

THIS ONE'S HOT: Eagle also said that the Unang Hirit people are greatly affected by Umagang Kay Ganda. He said that, "mino-monitor at ginagaya ng UH ang UKG."
"They are threatened, wala silang ginawa kung hindi manood nang manood ng Umagang Kay Ganda. Kung ano ang ginagawa nung kabila, yun din ang gagawin namin. Kaya ang sabi ko, 'Kung tumatakbo ka niyan, karerahan ito at pabilisan, pag tingin ka nang tingin sa kalaban mo, hindi ka lang madadapa, kundi maiiwan ka pa.' Sinasabi ko nga na huwag tayong manood nang manood sa kanila, let's set a trend. Pero ayaw nilang makinig dahil sila ang mahuhusay, e."

GMA's statement:
"GMA News and Public Affairs wishes to clarify the issue regarding the non-renewal of contract of Eagle Riggs for the show Unang Hirit. As the leading morning program, Unang Hirit constantly innovates to bring superior programming to its audience. On its 10th year, the show is set to take a new direction that will entail some changes in the current roster of hosts.


"Understandably, Eagle is bitter but we did try to keep him. We offered him other options, including doing showbiz stories in Unang Hirit but he was not amenable to this. He wanted to carry on with his usual assignment, but this was not part of the reformat plans.

"It is a fact that competing programs monitor each other. For its part, Unang Hirit maintains that any and all changes to its format are only in keeping with its commitment to provide quality news and features.

"It is unfortunate that Eagle chose to attack the network that gave him a home for nine years, and until the end tried to give him options.

"Still, we wish him well and thank him for his contributions to Unang Hirit."

photo courtesy of accesspinoy.com