Korina Sanchez Out of ABS-CBN For Now

Korina Sanchez’s ‘absence’ from her ABS-CBN programs following her remarks on Anderson Cooper has left viewers abuzz.

While relief efforts continue in areas ravaged by Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda), the news community was in shock as Korina Sanchez and Anderson Cooper raged a word war about the latter’s comment on the lack of government response to the victims. And netizens took notice of the situation.

During her DZMM radio program ‘Rated Korina’ last November 13, Sanchez reacted to Anderson’s comment regarding the lack of government presence in Tacloban, saying that the CNN anchor ‘doesn’t know what he is saying’. Her comments drew a negative reaction from social media users, and even CNN picked up the story. At the same time Cooper’s on-site reporting in Tacloban was being praised by local celebrities.

Two days later, Cooper responded by telling Sanchez that she was welcome to go to Tacloban, though Sanchez was at Ormoc at the time of his comments. In closing, he denied saying that there was no government presence, and instead commented on the strength and positivity of the survivors.

Following the comments, Sanchez disappeared from the media for unexplained reasons. Initially it was reported that Sanchez was suspended, but according to a Pep.ph report, Sanchez was presumed to have taken a ‘leave of absence’ from her duties at ABS-CBN. No official statement was provided by ABS-CBN regarding her no-show.

For now viewers will not see Korina Sanchez on air in both ‘TV Patrol‘ and ‘Rated Korina’. However, her general interest program ‘Rated K‘ will continue to air despite her absence.

UPDATE: Korina Sanchez has made a statement regarding her absence, denying that she was either ‘suspended’ or under a ‘leave of absence’. Instead she spoke on the phone during ‘Rated Korina’ today and told the listeners that she was taping episodes of ‘Rated K’ in typhoon-stricken Leyte as part of her work.

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‘Adarna’ Bumps ‘Genesis’ Off the Leadoff Spot

GMA’s new teleserye ‘Adarna’ will be Kylie Padilla’s first lead role in a primetime series.

Tonight’s GMA Telebabad lineup will have one change. ‘Adarna’, topbilled by Kylie Padilla and Geoff Eigenmann, will replace the recently concluded ‘Kahit Nasaan Ka Man’. However, the program’s debut will also demote the Dingdong Dantes starrer ‘Genesis’ off the leadoff spot.

As it turned out, ‘Genesis’ was demoted amid its sensitivity towards its ‘end of the world’ storyline and the popularity of ABS-CBN‘s ‘Honesto’. Right now the Philippines is still recovering from the damage of Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda), and it may not be good to follow a news program like ‘24 Oras‘ with a sci-fi Armageddon-based story of ‘Genesis’. The demotion should make sense because a possible public relations disaster would take place had ‘Genesis’ remained as the leadoff program.

In addition, the demotion was also necessary because ‘Genesis’ has been beaten consistently by ‘Honesto’ in the ratings. Whether it’s Nielsen or Kantar, it seems that the latter’s inexperienced lead star Raikko Mateo is outplaying the veteran Dingdong Dantes in terms of television viewership. The unexpected popularity of ‘Honesto’ also spread into social media, helping it become the most-watched program in its timeslot.

Because of that, GMA had to place ‘Genesis’ opposite ‘Got to Believe’, which stars the popular teen love team of Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla. However, ‘Got to Believe’ has also been a consistent top draw in its timeslot, and with the increasingly popular team-up of Bernardo and Padilla proving to be a hit, it would be an even difficult task for veterans like Dantes and on-screen partner Rhian Ramos to overcome the former viewership-wise. Nevertheless, ‘Genesis’ should be a more formidable opponent to ‘Got to Believe’ after the now-concluded ‘Kahit Nasaan Ka Man’ of Julie Anne San Jose and Kristoffer Martin failed to draw viewers.

Which brings us to ‘Adarna’, a modern retelling of the Ibong Adarna epic. This will be the first starring role for Kylie Padilla in a primetime series. Padilla, though a seasoned actress in her own right, has yet to play a major role in the ratings-rich primetime slot, and opposite five-year-old Mateo, expectations are high for the young veteran to make her mark. In ‘Adarna’, Padilla will be joined by leading men Eigenmann, Mikael Daez, fellow young actresses Ryza Cenon, Michelle Madrigal and Chynna Ortaleza, and veterans Jean Garcia and Jestoni Alarcon in helping her fulfill the daunting role of a half-human, half-bird character from a classic Filipino epic.

For Eigenmann, ‘Adarna’ will be his first teleserye after a long showbiz hiatus. As seen in a GMA News report, Eigenmann has slimmed down after battling weight issues prior to his sabbatical. Meanwhile Daez will appear in his first teleserye without on-screen partner Andrea Torres, whom he paired in the afternoon soap ‘Sana ay Ikaw na Nga‘, the morning ‘kiligserye’ ‘With a Smile’, and the gag show ‘Bubble Gang’.

‘Adarna’ makes its highly-anticipated debut tonight after ’24 Oras’ on GMA Telebabad.