Shirley Kuan breaks silence after resigning as Bea Alonzo’s manager

MANILA, Philippines — Veteran talent manager Shirley Kuan has confirmed that she had resigned as Bea Alonzo’s manager last Aug. 11. In an interview yesterday with select press, including The STAR, she revealed that the decision came after a buildup of issues that started with her being blamed for the cancellation of Bea’s planned Spain wedding to businessman Vincent Co.

“I feel that it’s time for me to tell the truth and defend myself,” she said.

Shirley, also called SK in showbiz circles, first went back to the time when reports and blind items emerged pointing to her as the reason Bea’s nuptials last May didn’t push through.

She said she immediately called the actress upon seeing the reports.

“I said Bea, what’s this? Tapos nag I don’t know. Then I said we both know the truth, right?” Shirley recalled.

According to her, Bea asked her to stay mum about the issue.

“Sabi nya agad sakin please SK promise me you won’t say anything kasi ayoko ng lumaki pa,” she said.

Shirley said she respected Bea’s wishes, particularly because the actress was heartbroken at the time, and remained silent even as the accusations against her continued.

“Talaga I kept quiet but ayaw tumigil ayaw tumigil. Dahil hindi ako sumasagot lalo akong tinitira and patindi na nang patindi,” she said.

“But because I promised her, I kept quiet, okay. She, in other words, did not allow me to defend myself.”

Shirley said she initially did not hold this against Bea. But she said she continued to be portrayed as the villain even after her former talent eventually went through with a surprise civil wedding in Makati last July.

“Kaso pati nung natuloy na ako pa rin ang villain,” she said.

“Parang teka lang, why am I supposed to be the villain here, wala naman akong ginawa.”

She said that when she resigned on Aug. 11, she again directly asked Bea about the accusations that she had supposedly caused the earlier wedding to be canceled.

“Sabi ko Bea, I just wanna make it clear... at any time kahit pabiro, even in jest, did I tell you to cancel the wedding? Baka nakalimutan ko lang, sabi niya no, never. Okay malinaw yan.”

She added that she had proof to support her side. She then challenged those accusing her of causing the cancellation to produce their own receipts. “Maglabas sila ng resibo kasi ako kaya kong maglabas.”

Denies meddling in Bea’s love life

Shirley recalled that she deliberately kept herself away from the preparations because she did not want to meddle in the actress’ private affairs.

“Sa preparation wala akong alam. And if I have a question, I even call your wedding coordinator because ayokong makialam sa private life mo.

“Ganun ako ka respectful.”

She also strongly denied interfering in Bea’s prenuptial agreement, saying she had never seen it.

“I know there’s going to be a prenup. Pero hindi ako nag mahaderang asan na yung prenup? Hindi talaga...Nalaman ko na lang nagpirmahan na.”

She also pointed out that she had been preparing to attend the wedding in Spain, including having a gown made and arranging an overseas trip.

“Bakit ko ipapa cancel? Ninang ako, nagpagawa ako ng gown, nag-effort ako,” she said.

“Kung ayaw mong matuloy ang kasal bakit ako gagastos?”

Shirley claimed that her airfare and hotel expenses would have amounted to almost P700,000.

She further revealed that when the wedding was canceled, she was actually asked to help notify the guests.

During the interview, she read a message she said came from Bea’s business partner informing her that Bea wanted her help in contacting the guests and the wedding coordinator.

Shirley said she identified herself in the messages she sent because she wanted recipients to know that the information was legitimate. But the wording of the message was Bea’s, she said.

She said she helped as a manager because Bea was going through a difficult situation but later found herself blamed for the cancellation.

When she resigned, Shirley said she told Bea, “The cancellation of your wedding is between the two of you. Bakit ang accountability sa akin? Why am I being held
as the person accountable?... Did I do something wrong?”

She also rejected suggestions that she had a financial motive for supposedly interfering in Bea’s marriage plans.

“I just wanna make this clear that Bea did not make me rich nor will she make me poor. So stop calling her my cash cow. There are bigger stars that I’m handling and who are busier than her.”

She, nevertheless, continued to perform her duties as Bea’s manager even after finding out that the actress had already gone through with the secret wedding.

She insisted that she had even been supportive of Bea’s plans to settle down.

Shirley is pushing back against suggestions that she tried to control or interfere in Bea’s personal life, including her marriage to businessman Vincent Co, due to financial motives: ‘I just wanna make this clear that Bea did not make me rich nor will she make me poor. So stop calling her my cash cow. I have bigger stars that I’m handling and who are busier than her.’

‘That was the last straw’

Shirley divulged the incident that ultimately pushed her to end her professional relationship with Bea.

“The third trigger point that was the last straw was there was this event” for a deal she had closed and had been involved in preparing from the start with the client. She later learned from the client that she had been disinvited.

Shirley said she already had an idea of what had happened but did not want to drag the client into the controversy.

She, however, admitted that she was offended by the situation.

“I’ll be a hypocrite if I tell you, I’m not offended because this has never been done to me. Wala naman akong kasalanan ‘di ba? What have I done?” she added.

She agreed not to go to the event but made clear that what happened was unacceptable to her.

“So anyways I didn’t. Sabi ko, don’t worry, I’m not going if that’s, you know, your request. But that’s very offensive and that’s not something I can accept. And I told Bea, that’s the last straw.”

The actress denied any knowledge of the disinvitation.

“After I told her that and she said no, I did not know about that. Hindi ko alam yan. (I said) okay, now I’m telling you.”

It was during that conversation that she informed Bea she was no longer her manager.

“And this is what I said, as of this very moment and as of this very day, I am no longer your manager.”

When asked about Bea’s response after being informed that she was resigning, Shirley recalled the actress asking, “How did it come to this?”

She responded by bringing up the “attacks” she had endured.

“Bakit ako sinisiraan nonstop? At sabi ko, Bea you never defended me. Hindi mo ko pinagtanggol eh. I said that.”

Shirley went on to clarify that she wasn’t necessarily asking Bea to publicly defend her.

“Alam ko naman si Bea hindi mahilig yan mag public interview, ang sa akin maski privately,” she said.

“You could have told whoever that is the truth na wala akong alam diyan. Hindi ako nakialam ever.”

Despite everything that had happened, she said she promised Bea that she would not immediately announce their professional split.

But she also recalled telling the actress that another attack against her would leave her with no choice but to break her silence.

“But I said one more tirahin pa ko isa. You are giving me no choice but to defend myself because enough is enough.”

Fellow manager calls SK

Shirley said she kept that promise until another incident happened after her resignation.

“I kept quiet, I kept my promise until” she received a call last Friday, Aug. 21, from a friend who is also a talent manager.

According to her, the manager told her that she was friends with a certain individual who allegedly asked her: “Kaya mo bang awayin si SK?”

She said the manager replied, “Why wala namang sinabing masama si SK why should I? And kilala ko siya. Hindi na nga siya kumikibo.

“Hindi na siya nagsasalita. So very quiet.”

That fellow manager eventually called her because she wanted to hear her side.

“Ha? Sabi ko. Sabi niya, tumatawag ako sayo because I wanna know the truth. You want the truth. This is the truth. So, I told her everything. And that’s it.”

She further said the manager subsequently confronted the unnamed individual and came to believe her version of events.

But after that, the manager said she immediately texted Bea. “So, I said what’s going on? ‘Hindi ko alam.’”

Nevertheless, for Shirley, that development was sufficient enough for her to decide that she could no longer remain silent.

“Tama na, enough is enough,” she said.

She then recalled sending Bea another message:

“And I told Bea, may text ako, Bea, nag resign na ako...Hindi pa ba kayo masaya? Ano pa bang gusto nyo?”

She questioned why she continues to be dragged into the controversy.

“What satisfaction are they getting by destroying my good name and reputation?” she said, without directing the question at a specific person.

“For over 30 years in the business, I had not encountered this kind of situation. Sobrang pambabastos na sa akin.”

As of presstime, Bea has yet to issue a response to her former manager’s statements.

As for Shirley, finally speaking out gave her a sense of relief after keeping her side of the story to herself for so long. “I feel good because nailabas mo na. Ang tagal kong kinimkim,” she said.