Eagle Riggs: ‘Nothing is forever’
NOW A freelancer, Eagle Riggs can’t help but empathize with the now-displaced talents of ABS-CBN, his home network from 1988 to 1999.
He can only wish that everything returns to the way it was. “The [ temporary] shutdown is sending us an important message: nothing is forever.”
He never thought he’d leave the station which he said gave him a series of breaks, both on- and off-camera. It wasn’t an easy climb though.
“I started as an editing assistant for ‘Magandang Umaga’ whose executive producer-host was Korina Sanchez. I was later promoted as segment writer. It was when a co-staffer was absent that I took over his job. Korina was impressed with my work that I was made to handle the ‘Sining at Kultura’ segment, then-hosted by Jimmy Santos and later Johnny Delgado.”
With only a single building in the ABS- CBN compound back then, Eagle bore witness to the steady yet fast-paced progress of a station which was getting back on its toes, thanks to the [Cory] Aquino administration which gave it back to the Lopezes.
It was also around that time when management began to take notice of Eagle’s hosting skills and earned himself a cooking segment titled “Eagle’s Nest” on “Teysi ng Tahanan.”
His work calendar meant having to work even on Sundays for “Ready, Get Set, Go” and “Sa Linggo nAPO Sila.”
“Hindipausonoonang term na ‘ multi- tasking,’
I was doing it already,” Eagle gushed.
On cam, he got a part as ninang ( godmother) to Judy Ann Santos in Mara Clara for its entire r u n f rom 1992 to 1997.
The last job Eagle held was head writer for “Mel & Jay.” However, its hosts
Mel Tiangco and
Jay Sonza got suspended for doing a detergent commercial, which was a no-no in the network’s news and current affairs.
Eagle, however, opted to stay with ABS, “Bilangpasasalamat konarinsaistasyonsadaming breaks naibinigaynilasaakin.”
Believing in the “you’re only as good as your last show” industry saying, the lack of offers pushed Eagle to leave ABS-CBN, “Iniyakan ko‘yon but I had no choice. May mgataoringumaasasaakin.”
How then can Eagle still look back with gratitude to the network which deprived him of projects he happily found with GMA Network?
His reply, “Without ABS-CBN, I am nothing.”
This is, of course, a different tune from Jay Sonza and Jobert Sucaldito’s rants against the station. Asked for his comment, Eagle humbly said, “Each of us has his own story. And I respect theirs.”
GUESS WHO? Despite repeated prodding from friends, this singeractress (SA) will not divulge the identity of a close friend (CF) who allegedly duped her of millions worth of jewelry.
“What happened was, CF needed to borrow SA’s jewelry to wear in an event. Since they’re close, SA willingly lent them provided that CF returns them right after the latter’s commitment,” Vignettes gathered.
The event came and gone, and SA heard nothing from CF. It was only when several weeks had passed that SA had to personally contact CF to follow up. Both angered and upset was SA when told that her jewelry, roughly valued at P20 million, found their way into a pawnshop. “In fairness, SA is kind enough to never dare drop her CF’s name. Whenever asked, she’ll only refer to CF as a colleague who she trusted so much.”