Veteran manager Norma Japitana has dropped prized actor Cesar Montano from her roster of talents.

Her decision was prompted by Cesar signing up with GMA-7 while she was still holding negotiations for him in his former home studio, ABS-CBN.

Montano’s decision left her feeling humiliated and hurt, she said, as the Kapuso deal was done allegedly without her knowledge and consent.

“When I saw him on TV signing the contract, I decided to drop him…I don’t want to have anything more to do with him. What he did was a complete deception,” Japitana said in an interview with another newspaper.

The manager revealed that the day before Montano signed his contract in the Kapuso network (which fell on July 15), she was still in talks with ABS-CBN for his supposed movie (not a teleserye as previously reported) with Star Cinema. Had it pushed through, Cesar would’ve played the role of Lorna Tolentino’s husband and Bea Alonzo and Coco Martin’s father.

More, Japitana said there were discussions to put his hit game show “The Singing Bee” back on air though no definite date was set.

It was also Japitana who worked out the deal to have Montano host the Kapamilya noontime show “Wowowee.” She said his ward wanted to be the main man on the program “in the long run.” However, “we were informed that audience response was weak, so his stint lasted only four days.”

 She seemed to have felt offended when his talent of 26 years reportedly said in an interview that she is now handling him only on a per project basis. “That’s not true! No manager would agree to that!” Japitana blurted.

As opposed to reports that Japitana filed a complaint against Montano with the Philippine Artists Managers, Inc. (PAMI), she clarified that “it was PAMI that formally issued the complaint, after learning what happened.”

“I’m not running after him (Cesar),” she quipped.

Note, however, that in PAMI’s official statement published July 16, the organization wrote that, “The PAMI had an emergency meeting with one of its members Ms. Norma Japitana after she officially filed a complaint with the organization.”

In the same statement, PAMI added that it has invited Montano for a dialogue. However, in a Twitter post of PEP Scoopbox on July 18, Montano is said to have declined to have a dialogue with PAMI and has decided to leave the negotiations up to his lawyers.

“TV Patrol” reported last July 19 that if an agreement is not reached between PAMI and Montano’s camp, it is more likely that the organization will favor the proposition of other manager-members to penalize Montano with “voluntary inhibition,” or the refusal of other actors who are members of the organization to work with him.

Japitana revealed that the former Kapamilya actor told her (sometime during his “Wowowee” stint) that he was offered a government post as general manager of Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO). “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’,” she said.

Recall that Montano ran and lost as governor of Bohol in the previous election.

However, in an article supposedly written by Japitana herself, posted on Journal Online last July 16, she said that because of the year-long grace period, “[Cesar] will be temporarily replaced by a relative.” The offer, she wrote, was made by Executive Secretary Jojo Ochoa.

 Montano has consistently maintained in previous interviews that he is still in good terms with Japitana---“Walang problema and she is part of this [decision],” he said—his manager confessed that Montano became “cold” towards her when she discouraged him to pursue his gubernatorial bid.

“I asked around, talked to people in Bohol to assess his chances. The feedback I got was not good. Malabo raw manalo. 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...” Japitana related.