I DON?T want to have anything more to do with him. What he did was a complete deception,? said Norma Japitana in a phone interview Wednesday afternoon about her erstwhile talent, actor Cesar Montano.

The veteran talent manager told the Inquirer that she at first wanted to keep her peace and that she had been avoiding the media. But she decided to talk at last, if only to clear the issue.

Complete surprise

She said Montano?s leaving his home studio, ABS-CBN, by signing up with rival network GMA 7 last week had taken her completely by surprise. In fact, she added, the day before the actor signed the deal with the Kapuso network, she was still negotiating a project for him, a movie with ABS-CBN?s Star Cinema.

?Masakit sa akin. Napahiya ako (It hurt; I was humiliated),? she said.

Japitana revealed that her contract with Montano as his talent manager was still in force after 25 years. She had no inkling, she said, that he would even think of violating the agreement.

She said she and Montano signed the contract in 1985, ?automatically renewable every year, until both parties dissolve it by mutual agreement.?

(See related story on page F2.)

Asked whether it was true, as Montano had said in news reports, that her services were now simply on a ?per project basis,? Japitana bristled, ?That?s not true! No manager would agree to that!?

She recalled that, on July 13, she was with ABS-CBN Television Entertainment head Linggit Tan and another executive in Montano?s dressing room at the Kapamilya studios to discuss the planned movie.

?He was to play the husband of Lorna Tolentino and the father of Bea Alonzo and Coco Martin,? said Japitana. ?There was also a discussion about bringing back ?Singing Bee,? although no definite date was discussed.?

?Wowowee? factor

Japitana said Montano might have rued that he wouldn?t get to host ABS-CBN?s daily noontime game show ?Wowowee? on a regular basis.

For the past several months, the show has been carrying on without its main host, Willie Revillame, who is on indefinite leave following management discomfort caused by controversial on-air remarks that he made.

Montano hosted ?Wowowee? temporarily last week.

?I arranged that deal,? Japitana pointed out. ?He wanted to host it in the long run. But we were informed that audience response was weak, so his stint lasted only four days.?

When it started

Reviewing the situation, Japitana said her falling out with Montano might have started when she discouraged him from running for governor of Bohol in the May 10 elections.

She recounted: ?I asked around, talked to people in Bohol to assess his chances. The feedback I got was not good. Malabo raw manalo. (His chances of winning are low). So that?s what I told him. I thought it was part of my loyalty to tell him the truth. After that, he became cold...?

PCSO post

But to prove that she and Montano were still in good terms until last week, Japitana made another revelation: ?He is eyeing a post in PCSO (Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office). He said it was offered to him, being a member of the Liberal Party [to which President Noynoy Aquino belongs]. But since he cannot assume the post due to the one-year ban for losing candidates, he told me, ?Ate Norms, ikaw muna ang mag-front sa akin sa PCSO.? (Ate Norms, you will have to be my front at PCSO).?

Right after Montano?s transfer to GMA 7 made the news, Japitana said, ?He kept calling me. I still have all those text messages. When I saw him on TV signing the contract, I decided to drop him.?

But Japitana denied that she filed a complaint with Pami (Philippine Artists Managers Inc.) to protest Montano?s move. ?I?m not running after him. It was Pami that formally issued the complaint, after learning what happened,? she said.

She wished him luck, Japitana said, but with a stern warning: ?Don?t try doing this to anyone else. Baka ma-karma ka.?