Actress Sunshine Cruz got recently asked why her daughters aren’t using Cesar Montano’s surname as screen names.

According to Sunshine, it was her manager Arnold Vegafria of ALV Talent Circuit who decided to use Cruz as her daughter’s screen names.

“‘Wag kayong magagalit sa akin ha. Desisyon ‘yan ni Arnold Vegafria,” Sunshine said in jest during her contract signing with Em-Core Dot Net where her she and her daughters were launched as the brand’s newest endorsers.

Referring to Vegafria, she asked: “Arnold, bakit daw Cruz?” She added: “Pinaalam naman ‘di ba? Kasi nga ‘yung careers nila more into singing. So we all know that the Cruzes mga musicians talaga. So I think it’s the fault of Arnold.”

To which Vegafria answered: “Pinaalam ko naman. Cruzes are dubbed as musicians ‘di ba?”

Known for being musically-inclined, Sunshine said she thought that they thought it would be an advantage for her daughters to use ‘Cruz’ instead of ‘Montano’ - especially with her two daughters currently pursuing careers in the music industry.

“Angelina’s with Universal Records. And si Sam very soon will be signing a contract also with Universal Records. ‘Di ba ‘pag Cruz like si Donna? Donna Cruz-Yrastorza ‘yan before. Pero she also used Cruz. So ‘pag musician kasi parang, Tito Arnold ‘no it’s an advantage for them,” she said.

While that is the case, Sunshine Cruz still believes that her daughters are proud of their father’s surname.

“Actually marami ngang nagtatanong bakit ‘di ginagamit. Of course, they are proud as Montanos. But screen name talagang Cruz talaga kasi musicians sila.

“Pero nakakanta din siya ha. Pero mas ‘yung mga Cruz,” she jokingly added.

Meanwhile, Vegafria explained that he personally asked for permission from Cesar Montano to allow her daughters to use ‘Cruz’ instead of ‘Montano’ as their screen name.

He said: “Pero I asked permission ha? Nagkita kami sa Las Vegas nung fight ni Pacquiao. ‘Can I use Cruz as [screen name] of Angelina and the [other] kids? Because they’re musicians. ‘It’s okay. Anak ko pa rin naman ‘yan. Dugo ko ‘yan eh.’ Sabi ko. Sige screen name lang naman ‘yun eh.”

The Love Thy Woman’s three daughters also said that they agree with the decision of their manager to use the surname Cruz, reiterating that it would benefit their future endeavors.

“For me, that’s why every celebrity has a stage name. It’s just a screen name, which means it’s just for the screen. It’s not a real name. I trust my mom and I trust my manager on it. And if they think that’s good, then I think it’s good as well,” Angelina said.

Samantha, on the other hand, said: “I feel like the screen name could actually help. Everyone usually has one. So our name’s Cruz - TIta Donna Cruz. Cruzes are really musically-inclined. I feel that like it could actually help us. That’s not a real name. That’s not legally changed.”

“Like they said, we still have Montanos name. And the Cruz - it’s just for the screen. It’s just a stage name. And we could actually benefit from it. Like my sister mentioned earlier, the Cruzes are known to be musically-inclined. And since we all want to take a more musical path in life, this could help us a lot,” Chesca stated.

Sunshine, whose ex-husband's real name back then was Cesar Manhilot, also made it clear that their surnames were already legally changed from Manhilot to Montano.

“Montano na sila kasi na-legalize na ‘yung Montano a long time ago. Kaya kami lahat from Manhilot, Montano na. Naging Montano na sila. So legal na. Kasi nagkakaroon ng problem before sa documents,” she explained.

Asked if she has plans to have her and her daughters’ surnames changed in the future, she answered: “Ako papalitan ko talaga. Kasi up to now eh. Annulled na ako. Pero ang daming kailangang asikasuhin. April lang ako na-annull, papalitan ko talaga,” she said.

She went on: “Pero sila, mapapalitan ‘yan ‘pag nag-asawa na sila. ‘Di na kailangan. T’saka whether they like it or not, tatay naman talaga nila. Hindi naman sila mabubuhay t’saka magiging ganyan ang itsura kung hindi dahil din naman sa tatay nila, sa genes nila.”

Angelina, for her part, said: “There’s no point. It just disrespects him. He’s still our father. It’s our last name so we’ll embrace it.”