Singer and actress Zsa Zsa Padilla. “Instead of feeling honored, I was left feeling small,” the veteran performer said in explaining her decision to return her Aliw Awards Lifetime Achievement honor following a dispute over ceremony protocol. (Photo from Zsa Zsa Padilla’s official Facebook page)
Zsa Zsa Padilla says she is returning her Aliw Awards Lifetime Achievement trophy after not being given time to deliver a thank-you speech at the ceremony. Aliw Awards organizers say long-standing program rules were followed.
MANILA — Veteran singer and actress Zsa Zsa Padilla has returned the Lifetime Achievement Award conferred on her by the Aliw Awards Foundation, Inc., saying she felt disrespected after not being given time to deliver a thank-you speech during the 38th Aliw Awards ceremony.
In statements shared publicly after the event, Padilla said she attended the awards night expecting to briefly acknowledge collaborators and family members who had supported her more than four-decade career in music, film, and television. Instead, she said Lifetime Achievement awardees were called onstage as a group, handed their trophies, and then signaled to step down without being given an opportunity to speak.
“Instead of feeling honored, I was left feeling small as I walked off that stage,” Padilla wrote, explaining her decision to return the award.
Padilla said she did not prepare a formal speech, planning instead to speak briefly from the heart. She later delivered the remarks she had intended only after a vlogger approached her outside the ballroom and asked for her reaction to the recognition. She described the experience as shocking and deeply disappointing, particularly given the stature of the award.
Established in 1976, the Aliw Awards are among the Philippines’ longest-running honors recognizing excellence in live entertainment, particularly concerts, stage performances, and major musical events. Presented annually by the Aliw Awards Foundation, Inc., a non-stock, non-profit organization, the awards focus on achievements in live performance rather than recorded film or television work. The Lifetime Achievement Award is one of the foundation’s highest distinctions, conferred on artists whose careers have made a sustained and significant impact on Philippine entertainment.
Padilla said the incident prompted her to reflect on how such honors are presented. She urged the foundation to reconsider its protocols for recognizing lifetime honorees, suggesting clearer communication with awardees and the inclusion of short video presentations explaining why recipients are being honored.
Director says ceremony followed established rules
Following Padilla’s remarks, Frannie Zamora, the director of the Aliw Awards ceremony, said organizers adhered to established program procedures.
Zamora said that under long-standing practice, Lifetime Achievement Awardees and Hall of Famers are typically not scheduled to deliver speeches during the ceremony. He added that the notification letter sent to Padilla ahead of the event did not indicate that she would be given time to speak onstage.
He also said that had Padilla raised the matter during the program, accommodations could have been made, but emphasized that the production team was following time constraints and instructions set by the foundation. Zamora said he understood Padilla’s feelings while noting that the institution operates under rules intended to ensure the orderly flow of the event.
As of publication, the Aliw Awards Foundation, Inc. had not issued a separate formal statement addressing Padilla’s decision to return the award.
The episode has prompted broader discussion within the entertainment community about how lifetime honors are conferred and whether existing protocols sufficiently reflect the significance attached to such recognitions.
