MANILA, Philippines — Jericho Rosales and Maris Racal won the top acting honors at the 9th Entertainment Editors’ Choice Awards (The Eddys) on Sunday night, while Quezon emerged as the biggest winner after taking home Best Picture and Best Director.
The awards, presented by the Society of Philippine Entertainment Editors (SPEEd) in Pasay City, recognized Rosales as Best Actor for Quezon and Racal as Best Actress for Sunshine.
In his acceptance speech, Rosales dedicated the award to his mother, who is battling Alzheimer’s disease, as well as to his family and girlfriend, actress Janine Gutierrez.
Quezon dominated the ceremony, winning Best Picture, Best Director for Jerrold Tarog, and Best Screenplay, in addition to Rosales’ Best Actor victory.
Rochelle Pangilinan received the Best Supporting Actress award for Child No. 82, while Rico Blanco (Manila’s Finest) and Will Ashley (Bar Boys: After School) shared the Best Supporting Actor award after tying in the category.
Racal, meanwhile, reflected on her connection to her character in Sunshine during her acceptance speech, encouraging people who have experienced setbacks to keep moving forward.
Other winners included Monica Sebial for Best Production Design (Quezon), Moises M.M. Zee for Best Cinematography (Salvageland), Benjamin Gonzales Tolentino for Best Editing (Sunshine), Roy Santos and Neil Diokno for Best Sound (Manila’s Finest), and Bien Michael Caralian, Vincent Cheng, Jimmy dela Cruz and Santelmo Studio for Best Visual Effects (Shake, Rattle & Roll: Evil Origins).
Frederik Sandoval and Emerzon Texon won Best Musical Score for Manila’s Finest, while the film’s “Sandalan” received the Best Theme Song award.
Vice Ganda, Maricel Soriano, Richard Gutierrez, Kim Chiu and Paulo Avelino were recognized as the event’s Box Office Heroes.
Presented annually by SPEEd, The Eddys honors outstanding achievements in Philippine cinema. The organization is composed of current and former entertainment editors from leading newspapers and online news organizations in the country.