(From left) Noli de Castro, Maine Mendoza, Arjo Atayde. Images: Screengrab from YouTube/ABS-CBN News, Instagram/@iceseguerra
Broadcast journalist Noli de Castro earned the ire of netizens after commenting that the wedding of TV host Maine Mendoza and Quezon City Congressman-actor Arjo Atayde was ill-timed as Super Typhoon Egay was wreaking havoc over many parts of the country.
De Castro’s remarks were made in the dying minutes of ABS-CBN’s TV Patrol newscast on Friday, the same day that Mendoza and Atayde tied the night in Baguio City — one of the provinces badly-hit by the super typhoon.
Fellow anchors Karen Davila, Bernadette Sembrano, and Henry Omaga-Diaz were congratulating the newlyweds, as their commentary focused on how the couple kept their nuptials strictly private.
“Pwede talagang tahimik ang kasal, kahit gaano ka kasikat. Alam mo [noong kinasal ako], dalawampung tao lang ang nasa kasal ko (A wedding can indeed be done in private, no matter how famous you are. Did you know that only 20 people were present when I got married),” Davila said, while Sembrano and Omaga-Diaz smiled at her story.
De Castro interjected, saying, “Kayo naman habang kinakasal, kawawa naman ang binagyo (While the both of you were getting married, many people were affected by the storm).” The female anchors reminded him to lighten up, but he chose to continue.
“Hindi, hindi. Si Egay na kalalabas lang ay may papalit naman na si Falcon. At ang possiblity na maaaring ang dinaanan ni Egay ay dadaanan din ni Falcon at mabigat ‘yang pasanin sa ating mga kababayan na hindi pa nakakabangon hanggang ngayon,” he added.
(No, no. Egay just left the country, and Falcon will be here next. The possibility of Falcon passing by the same path that Egay took and caused damage in will cause even more hardships to our countrymen who haven’t recovered until now.)
De Castro’s remarks were not taken well by some fans and supporters of the couple who took to social media to express their displeasure on the veteran newscaster, with some reminding him that it’s not the newlyweds’ fault that their wedding took place on a stormy day.
“Bakit kelangan pa sabihin na “habang kayo kinakasal…” ‘Yung bagyo ba ay kagagawan ng couple na kinasal? Kapag ba tinigil niya yung kasal nila, titigil din yung pananalasa ng bagyo? Paano mo nalaman na hindi tutulong/tumutulong yung couple at mga guests sa kasal sa nga nasalanta ng bagyo? Sa tingin mo ba, silang couple din ay hindi naapektuhan ng bagyo? Any couple na nagpaplano ng kasal ay kinakatakot yung mabagyo sa wedding day nila,” one @CatsofPalma said.
(Why do you have to say, “while you’re getting married?” Did the married couple cause the storm? If they stopped their wedding, would the storm stop as well? How did you know that the couple and their guests didn’t help the victims? Did you think that the couple wasn’t affected by the storm as well? Any couple planning a wedding would be scared to have a storm on their wedding day.)
Image: Screengrab from YouTube/ABS-CBN News
Meanwhile, Twitter user @haibaraAiii_ pointed out that the weather was not included in Mendoza and Atayde’s plans.
“Seryoso ba Mr. Noli de Castro? As if naman na kasama sa plano nila Maine at Arjo na bagyuhin yung Pilipinas? Can we just respect their marriage kahit di ka na maging masaya for them, respetuhin mo nalang. Seriously, on national TV? Planado na yan months ago,” they added.
(Are you serious, Mr. Noli de Castro? As if the storm was part of Maine and Arjo’s plans. Can we just respect their marriage? Even if you couldn’t be happy for them, show some respect. Seriously, on national TV? Their wedding had been planned for months.)
Seryoso ba Mr. Noli de Castro? As if naman na kasama sa plano nila Maine at Arjo na bagyuhin yung Pilipinas? Can we just respect their marriage kahit di ka na maging masaya for them, reseptuhin mo nalang. Seriously, on national tv? Planado na yan months o
— 😶🌫️ (@haibaraAiii_) July 29, 2023
One @atty_OAS, on the other hand, said the broadcast journalist’s message was “clear,” although the timing of his delivery was “a little bit off.”
My two-cent take on Noli De Castro’s comment in maine-arjo’s wedding: ‘d message that he wanted to convey is clear: our Kababayans need help as of the moment due to the typhoon.But the transition from that message from the wedding topic was a little bit off.
— Atty. Oliver Arceo Santos (@atty_OAS) July 30, 2023
Another @faithjas09091 stressed that the celebrity couple held a “donation drive” for Egay’s victims instead of the usual request for wedding gifts.
“Mr. Noli De Castro, just to let you know. May donation drive sila Maine at Arjo after the wedding at isa pa yung kasal nila wala silang kasalanan kung nagkabagyo at sumabay sa date ng kasal nila. Hay naku,” they said.
(Mr. Noli de Castro, just to let you know, Maine and Arjo organized a donation drive at their wedding. One more thing, it’s not their fault that the storm happened to fall on the same day as their wedding. Oh dear.)
Mr. Noli De Castro, just to let you know. May donation drive sila Maine at Arjo after the wedding at isa pa yung kasal nila wala silang kasalanan kung nagkabagyo at sumabay sa date ng kasal nila. Hay naku.
— Faithjas💕Maine@28 (@faithjas09091) July 28, 2023
Incidentally, on the day before the wedding, the couple’s wedding coordinator had issued a message, a copy of which were also furnished to INQUIRER.net by a source, enjoining their guests to refrain from posing on social media in order to be sensitive to the public who have been badly affected by the typhoon.
Mendoza and Atayde said “I do” at an intimate two-part ceremony in Baguio City last July 28, which happened to be a significant date for the couple. The date holds a special significance for the couple as it was on the same date when the actress-host had posted the viral “Arjo cutie” post on Twitter, exactly a decade ago. It was also the day when the couple first met in 2013, got engaged in 2022. EDV