“We’re really proud of these recognitions,” says Cong. Atienza. “19 years na sa ere ang ‘Maynila’ and we’re proud that both Kapuso and Kapamilya stars can guest in our show. From Dingdong Dantes, Marian Rivera, Dennis Trillo to Coco Martin, Angel Locsin, Enrique Gil, Erich Gonzales at marami pang ibang big stars, lahat sila naging bahagi ng ‘Maynila’.”
The producer of “Maynila” is now her daughter Lei Atienza, who’s married to former Los Banos councilor Von Valdepenas and they have three kids aged 10, 7 and 2. Lei used to be with ABS-CBN’s Star Circle but she quickly realized showbiz is not for her. She’s proud that the awards for “Maynila” all came when she was already its producer, with Abet Raz as scriptwriter and Phil Noble as director.
“The show used to be meant for teen viewers but we’ve notice that the market has changed,” says Lei. “Most of our viewers now are mothers and their children. Our highest rating episode is about a woman who falls in love with a much younger man and the episode that won us awards featured Noel Trinidad as an old man suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. We always try to promote good values about love, lie and marriage in each episode.”
Cong. Lito Atienza has very conservative views and he is against divorce and same sex marriage. But for the film industry, he has sponsored a bill for a five-year tax exemption of the local film industry and this is about to be approved.
As a gift to the press, Cong. Lito raffled off 8 free overnight stay at Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar in Bagac, Bataan which is now a famous tourist destination. We’re one of the lucky ones who won. The owner of Las Casas is a ‘balae’ of Cong. Lito because his son Ali is married to the owner’s daughter, Jet Acuzar.
