Push Admin

Peque Gallaga's widow airs personal gripe against MMFF awards

Article (news)

Mario Dumaual, ABS-CBN News

MANILA — (UPDATED) The fantasy adventure “Magikland” reaped a good harvest of six awards and citations at the 46th Metro Manila Filmfest (MMFF) awards on Sunday night.Among the awards it received include the FPJ Memorial award and Special Jury prize for its creator and executive producer, the late director Peque Gallaga. However, his widow Madie Gallaga takes issue with a fly in the ointment in the conduct of the otherwise successful awards rites. Gallaga lamented that she and her representatives were not informed beforehand of the special jury award for Peque, thereby losing their moment of an acceptance speech.&quot;I am very upset because we were not given the opportunity to express our gratitude and appreciation. No one gave us the courtesy to inform us about the award,&quot; Mrs. Gallaga told ABS-CBN News Monday, reiterating that &quot;Magikland&quot; producer Brightlight was also not advised about the citation. &quot;I grew up being guided by good manners and it’s important for us to say thank you to the people who matter and became part of our lives.”Along with Lore Reyes, Peque&#x27;s longtime film collaborator, she also questioned the role of director Erik Matti in the selection of the jury prize. Matti, who trained under Peque, is one of the partners of Upstream.ph, the online platform of the MMFF. In his tribute to Peque on his passing this year, Matti referred to their &quot;love-hate relationship and the fights that come with it that toughened him as a filmmaker.&quot;MMFF spokesperson Noel Ferrer told ABS-CBN News that they totally understand the feelings of Peque&#x27;s widow. However, he clarified that the jury award is not usually announced before the awards rites. &quot;The Jury Award is always special citation,&quot; Ferrer said. &quot;Like the results of the judging, it is not pre-announced (as there are no leaks in the final decision of the jury). As in the past, even the Jury Prize is only given during the awards ceremonies. The citation was written by the member of the jury - Directors Guild of the Philippines (DGPI) President Paolo Villaluna in good faith. Direk Erik Matti is not in any way part of the awards.” Despite the brouhaha, &quot;Magikland&quot; producer Albee Benitez of Brightlight expressed gratitude for the MMFF with the following statement: &quot;We are thankful and appreciate the awards given to us by MMFF, however we were also not aware these citations for Peque were going to be given last night.&quot; Mrs. Gallaga also congratulated Antoinette Jadaone for winning the Best Director award for “Fan Girl” which also won best picture. &quot;I am very happy for her because she was also part of the team who wrote the screenplay of &#x27;Magikland,&#x27;&quot; she said.Aside from Villaluna, the jury members for this year’s film festival awards include Cabinet secretary Karlo Nograles, MTRCB head Rachel Arenas, actor Richard Gomez, singer Jay Durias, news anchor Rico Hizon, and writer Lualhati Bautista. In her latest statement released to ABS-CBN News, Gallaga&#x27;s widow clarified that she was grateful to the jurors for awarding her husband the Special Jury Prize. &quot;I am humbled by the outpouring of support and the recognition that he is getting by such an august body. I am also thankful to the MMFF for giving us a medium to be able to share Peque&#x27;s last work.&quot;&quot;Peque would be the first to say that with all of his achievements, he did not do it alone. He was a champion for collaborative work and had he been able to accept that award, he would have been happy to use this opportunity to highlight the work of people, without whom, Magikland would not have been possible,&quot; she said. &quot;I am sincerely sorry that in my distress not to be able to acknowledge the contributions of Peque&#x27;s coworkers, I may have given the impression that I was dissatisfied with the MMFF as a whole.&quot;<div>Related video:</div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hvJ5VDBRDVk?enablejsapi=1"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

The fantasy adventure “Magikland” reaped a good harvest of six awards and citations at the 46th Metro Manila Filmfest (MMFF) awards on Sunday night.

The fantasy adventure “Magikland” reaped a good harvest of six awards and citations at the 46th Metro Manila Filmfest (MMFF) awards on Sunday night.

Peque Gallaga's widow airs personal gripe against MMFF awards

News

Entertainment

Lifestyle

Sports

Metro.Style

More

Traffic

Manila

Horoscope

Showbiz

Peque Gallaga's widow airs personal gripe against MMFF awards

Mario Dumaual,

ABS-CBN News

Published Dec 28, 2020 03:22 PM PHT

|

Updated Dec 28, 2020 06:25 PM PHT

Read More:

MMFF

Magiklang

Peque Gallaga

ABS-CBN is the leading media and entertainment company in the Philippines, offering quality content across TV, radio, digital, and film. Committed to public service and promoting Filipino values, ABS-CBN continues to inspire and connect audiences worldwide.

Corporate

Investors

Governance

International Distribution

Corporate

Governance

Investors

International Distribution

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

AI Policy

Terms of Service

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.