MANILA, Philippines - Rufa Mae Quinto surprised her fans and colleagues when she suddenly quit her talk show “Showbiz Central” on Sunday. Speculations are rife that she is planning to leave GMA altogether.
“After her contract with GMA expires at the end of April, she will keep her options open as to what network she will join next,” her manager, Veronique del Rosario of Viva Artist Agency, told Interaksyon.com on Monday.
Rufa Mae announced her departure from “Showbiz Central” with this tweet on Sunday morning: “By the way, to all my followers, I wanna say goodbye and thank you sa lahat ng natuwa at nanood sa Showbiz Central. Ako po’y magpapaalam na, huling linggo ko.”
That afternoon, she faced her co-hosts John Lapus, Pia Guanio and Raymond Gutierrez, and confirmed her decision to leave the show two weeks before its fifth anniversary.
The comedienne called it a career move, which she arrived upon after consulting with Veronique and Viva chief executive officer Vic del Rosario on Friday.
She also said she suddenly felt the need to make Sunday a rest day after 11 straight years of working on Sundays.
Before she joined “Showbiz Central,” Rufa Mae had been a mainstay for six years on “SOP,” GMA’s Sunday variety show before it was replaced by “Party Pilipinas.”
When asked by Raymond pointblank if her abrupt departure is a prelude to her transfer to another network, she was candid about keeping her options open.
“I’m not closing naman my doors. Siyempre di ba bilang artista, gusto mo rin namang makipagtrabaho sa iba’t ibang artista,” she replied.
While negotiating her television contract, Viva will keep Rufa Mae busy with her film projects. “In the meantime,” Veronique said, “she will concentrate her acting and producing efforts on movies since comedies are in vogue again.”
In a subsequent tweet, the comedienne referred to her upcoming movie, “Okay lang, mga friends. Mapapanood n’yo pa rin ako sa ‘Ride to Love.’”
Rufa Mae also told her co-hosts that she would attend the 5th anniversary showoff “Showbiz Central” on April 29 if she would be invited.
She admitted that she had even considered not showing up for work last Sunday, but she realized it would have been disrespectful to her colleagues if she did not bid them a proper goodbye.
source: interaksyon.com
