Philippine stars Liza Soberano and Enrique Gil, popularly known as #Lizquen, touched down in the UAE today as part of the promotional push for their latest movie Alone/Together. The celebrity pair have been accused of revealing their supposed secret two-year relationship as a marketing ploy for the film, which has already taken more than PHP200m (Dh14.1m) since its release in the Philippines last Wednesday.
The pair, who have already appeared together in three films, touched down in the UAE for Friday’s regional premiere in Dubai, just as social media feeds in the Philippines set alight with accusations that their revelation, on a popular Filipino TV chat show, was a marketing ploy to push their new film, already one of the highest-grossing Filipino cinema products in many years.
We’re Dubai-bound! See you on the other side, Sheepmates! ✈️🖤 #AloneTogetherWorldwide @lizasoberano @itsenriquegil pic.twitter.com/kd1gEWmjnn
— Black Sheep (@Black_SheepPH) February 20, 2019
Soberano’s manager, Ogie Diaz, however, has taken to Facebook to face the criticism head on. “Why admit? Because they have a film to promote,” he conceded.
“Is admitting their relationship for more than two years going to help Mindanao [a southern Filipino region facing sporadic outbreaks of terrorism] be at peace?
"If they are in a relationship, will the price of petrol and other stuff goes down? Is the minimum wage going up? Is it going to help end the measles outbreak?”
The movie, a romance that sees two college sweethearts reunited eight years after their split, will premiere at an already sold-out screening at Reel Cinemas in The Dubai Mall on Thursday night.
