SOP (Philippine TV Series) - Regine's Departure and Return

Regine's Departure and Return

On February 17, 2008, the viewers were in for a shock when Asia's Songbird Regine Velasquez cried during the show's "Constellation of Stars" segment where she was serenaded by her SOP co-hosts. Speculations were fuelling that it might be Regine's last appearance in the show since she was bent to accept ABS-CBN's lucrative offer after taping earlier for the drama anthology Maalaala Mo Kaya and guesting in Kapamilya network shows like Sharon and Entertainment Live.

After Regine's tearful appearance at SOP, it was reported that among ABS-CBN's lucrative offer was the lead role in the Philippine version of Betty La Fea, and her own musical variety show on primetime. But GMA executives were quick to the draw, as they called Regine for an emergency meeting on February 18. In some tabloid articles it was revealed that GMA gave in to Regine's demands by "tripling" her talent fee and give her 2 more shows.

It was expected then that Regine would appear again on the show last February 24, 2008. However, the Songbird was a no-show. Instead, she opted to guest at ABS-CBN's The Buzz where she confirmed she expressed her interest to play Betty in the local version of Betty La Fea and also declared that she has "no job" since the February 17 episode of SOP was her last show.

However, on March 2, 2008, Regine set foot once again at the GMA studios where she declared that she will remain a Kapuso and will continue to be seen at SOP and in other GMA shows in the next months. Recently she signed a two-year exclusive contract with the Kapuso network.