MANO Po co-star Darwin Yu was recently embroiled in a small controversy, along with his teleserye co-star Dustin Yu.
The omission of one word (“if”) from his quoted answer to a question regarding the possibility of changing screen names due to the similarity in their showbiz names sparked harsh comments and bashing from netizens and critics, according to an article in PEP.ph.
His answer was supposed to be this: “But for me, nothing needs to be changed because I think, if people know who we really are then they won’t get confused.” In the printed answer, the “if” preceding the word people was inadvertently omitted, leading people to think of the two as having an air of arrogance.
However, the controversy worked in the actors’ favor, with both Darwin and Dustin reporting an increase in their social media followers. One can safely say that the small controversy created a mark and put them on people’s minds and attention.
“When you make a mistake, people will judge you and discriminate you, but what’s important is that you grow from it,” Darwin said.
“We entered showbiz and we knew that it’s part of the package deal to get embroiled in some issues. Whether it’s by design or not, there will always be controversies,” he further stated.
“I fully trust our management if ever they change the screen name for one of us, or even myself. I will be thankful because I’m still Darwin even if they change my screen name,” he added.
Recently, the actor celebrated his 25th birthday. According to him, he just planned for a simple birthday celebration in their family’s house.
“What I’ve learned since the pandemic began is that family is very important. That’s why I want to celebrate and bond with them all the time,” he stated. “As much as I want to celebrate with friends and colleagues, I will choose safety first.”
Darwin revealed that he wishes for more projects, including with Mano Po co-stars Rob Gomez and Dustin Yu, and that everyone stays healthy. He would like to work with award-winning director Erik Matti.
As for the question of gifting himself something for his birthday, Darwin said that he has not thought about it, preferring to save his money for now, while admitting that he has been spendthrift recently.
“I want to save, hahaha. Lately, I’ve spent a lot, I was a bit immature then. When it comes to my talent fees [before], I would spend it immediately. Now, I want to save for my future. I’m planning to put up a small business and I am in the conceptualization process. Hopefully, I will get some support for it,” he divulged.
* * *
Banana fabric woven by inmates in Davao Del Norte took centerstage at the recent New York Fashion Week in the runway show of Filipina fashion designer Joy Soo.
In a story featured on PEP.ph, models donned the creations of Soo made from banana fabric, with Soo calling her fashion line, “Musa Fabric.”
Facebook posts from the designer accompanying the story saw her and her team being interviewed backstage at the NYFW, and a Times Square billboard featuring her brand/clothing line.
According to the article, Joy was a public accountant who went into early retirement to pursue her passion, which is fashion design. In 2020, she was looking for a textile that she could use for her designs. It was through a friend from the Philippine Department of Labor & Employment in New York where Joy saw a video of women inmates in her province of Davao Del Norte weaving banana fabric. It gave her an idea to use the fabric for a sustainable fashion business and, at the same time, help those in need.
According to the designer, her advocacy work started when she went to the provincial jail every Friday to collect the textiles woven by the women. She related that she encountered the husbands of the women who were waiting for their wives to hand them money each Friday.
Although she also partnered with the local government and private sector to teach women from indigenous communities to weave banana fabric, Soo revealed that the majority of the fabric that she uses comes from the women inmates, who number more than one hundred.
As part of her advocacy, Soo said that she has doubled the pay for the women inmates from what the Labor Department gives them.
“Prisoners found hope in this new endeavor. Even though they are in jail, they can still continue, they can still have their livelihood,” Soo stated.
