AMID weeks-long speculation surrounding her supposed transfer to ABS-CBN, music veteran Regine Velasquez on Monday finally broke her silence with a message to her long-time supporters.
Velasquez, dubbed the “Asia’s Songbird,” wrote the statement to her fans on Twitter, three days after the announcement of her debut appearance in ABS-CBN’s “ASAP.”
“Para sa lahat ng sumusuporta sa akin, maraming, maraming salamat sa pagtatanggol niyo sa ‘kin. Naging kasama ko kayo sa lahat ng pinagdadaan ko. Sana ‘wag kayong magsawa. Love you guys, thank you again,” she said, with emojis of crying smileys and hearts.
Although Velasquez did not directly mention her participation in “ASAP” – she will be a “special guest” in its Sydney concert on Oct. 20 – the timing of her tweet was not lost on her fans, who assured their idol of their unwavering support.
Velasquez, 48, has been identified with GMA-7 for a greater part of her three-decade career. Along with now-Kapamilya stars Jaya, Janno Gibbs, and her husband Ogie Alcasid, Velasquez was among the mainstays of the network’s now-defunct concert variety show “SOP.”
“SOP,” which ran for 13 years until 2010, was for a time the direct rival program of “ASAP.”
With her long-time co-performers having transferred to ABS-CBN in succession, Velasquez had been teased numerous times this year about following suit, but would only give playful answers.
The teasing on the network switch eventually became a persistent rumor, and in what appeared to be a message to her fans on her next big career move, Velasquez attended the ABS-CBN Ball in late September where she posed with top executives of the network.
To date, no official announcement as to Velasquez becoming a full-fledged Kapamilya has been made, although in a statement over the weekend, GMA-7 executives revealed that the “Dadalhin” hitmaker has parted with the network. (ABS-CBN News)
