October 03, 2008

THE one-month suspension of Luisita “Luchi” Cruz-Valdes ended Sept. 30 but as of yesterday the erstwhile head of the ABS-CBN news and current affairs department—the second of the Tres Marias within the Lopez news network—had not yet reported back for work.

Cruz-Valdes

The uncharitable newsroom chatter is that she would return to ABS-CBN only over Maria Ressa’s dead body.

According to the grapevine, the situation between Ressa and her former protege has reached a point of no-return, with Ressa allegedly even threatening to quit if the network’s executive committee should by (a remote) chance uphold her suspended second-in-command.

During Cruz-Valdes’ forced absence, Ressa reportedly rounded up more signatures and testimony to strengthen her insubordination case against the former.

Ressa, incidentally, had the unfortunate chance of bumping into Cocktales at the Fort’s Aubergine last month, but the former CNN correspondent managed to hide her suddenly spoiled appetite by breaking into what appeared to our astigmatic eyes as girlish giggle when we approached her.

True to the ABS-CBN’s “no-comment” policy, Ressa sidestepped, after exchanging pleasantries, Cocktales’ probing by saying she “was abroad when it happened” before straining her neck to look for her mystery date.

She did manage to return the favor and stick the knife back into Cocktales, by saying with a smile, “You should have checked your facts first” before having written about their fall-out.