Director and scriptwriter Ronaldo Carballo drew flak from netizens after alledging in a post that actor Ian Venercion's rate was at P500,000 per two hour-public appearance.

In a Facebook post on Tuesday, January 17, he said that Tarlac City had requested Veneracion to be part of "Kaisa Festival" parade to be held on January 28.

However, according to Carballo, Veneracion's manager said his rate was P500,000 per two-hour appearance rate which they thought was too expensive, noting that the actor would only ride in a float and not perform.

"Sasakay sya sa float at ipaparada sya sa bayan ng Tarlac City. Kakaway-kaway lang sya. Ni hindi sya kakanta. Sabi raw ng Road Manager ni Ian, "500K si Ian in two hours sa parade at pag lumagpas ng two hours, may 100k additional per hour," the director said.

"OA ang 500k for a parade kahit limang oras pa. Buti kung binabayaran si Ian ng kahit 200k per day taping/shooting magdamag, kung may Teleserye sya o may pelikula sya. Hetong 500k na hinihingi nya, kakaway-kaway lang sya sa parada," he added.

Meanwhile, many netizens and Veneracion's fellow artists expressed their sentiments on the Carballo's revelation.

"Nakakaloka yung hindi mo lang kinaya yung presyo ni Ian Veneracion na 500[K] for 2 hours na parada, ipo-post na sa [F]acebook? Juice ko, ang simple lang ng argumento -- kung hindi kaya ang presyo, eh di wag kunin. Humanap ng iba," actor and comedian Ogie Diaz said in a Facebook post on Friday.

"Kahit isang milyon pa ang ipresyo ni Ian, karapatan niya yon. Deal nila 'yon. Kung paanong karapatan din ng mga promoter or producer kung kukunin nila o hahanap ng iba," he added.

Vlogger Christian Albert Gaza also shared his opinion on the matter.

"Ronaldo, first of all, hindi mo dapat nilalabas sa publiko yung naging negotiation niyo ng road manager ni Ian Veneracion. Confidential dapat yan. That's a reflection of your character. Very squammy," he said.

"Pangalawa, paano naging mahal yung 500K for 2 hours ha? Parada yan huy! Magkano ba gusto mo? 100K? Eh 'di sana artista ng GMA7 yung kinuha mo! Ian Veneracion yan huy! Institusyon na yan sa industriya," Gaza continued.

Singer Elha Nympha also posted on Facebook, saying Veneracion's talent fee was justifiable as he has already proven his craftmanship in the acting industry.

"Hindi naman po kami binabayaran para sa wala, Ian Veneracion is one of the OG’s sa Acting industry. Kaya hindi mo dapat ma question bakit ganun ang TF niya. Again never disclose private negotiations for publicity purposes," Nympha remarked.

Veneracion's camp has not released a statement regarding the issue yet.