Newly resigned Optical Media Board chair Edu Manzano said he did not mean to offend anybody with the speech he gave at the 1st MTRCB Awards last September 4.

In his message, Manzano said the awards he received from the MTRCB as ‘best host’ and from Anak TV seal as ‘most admirable TV personality’ are the only accolades he considers “special.”

“I was misinterpreted, (the speech was) taken out of context,” he said.

Manzano clarified that he merely stated the importance of the awards he got from the two award-giving bodies in the context of TV being a “highly influential medium.”

“In my speech, I acknowledged the other awards I received in my career—I should know because I actually got the transcript from the speech—but I specifically mentioned the two award-giving bodies (Anak TV Seal and the MTRCB) because I feel they have made TV monitoring a specific task—365 days a year, 24/7.

"In that context, I thought, the awards I received from them are special, if one considers how influential TV is in our lives today,” Manzano explained.

Manzano said he had already cleared up the issue with the members of the Philippine Movie Press Club (PMPC) and had furnished them a copy of the speech transcript.

“I don’t want to offend anybody. I have been in this industry for almost 30 years, and I have known quite a few (press people). Some of them, in fact, I call friends…my ‘kumpares.’ I would never do anything to offend them,” said he.

The PMPC is the main organizing body behind the Star Awards which also bestowed recognition on Manzano in the past.

The PMPC voiced their indignation towards Manzano a few days ago, condemning his speech “callous and uncalled for.”

Manzano said he hopes for the issue to die down.