MANILA — Actress Vivian Velez on Tuesday announced that she has resigned from her post as director general of the Film Academy of the Philippines (FAP), describing her time in the organization as “challenging.”

Velez revealed no longer being part of FAP through a statement posted on the group’s official Facebook page. According to Velez, she tendered her “irrevocable resignation” in May.

“I would like to take this opportunity, first and foremost, to thank the Board of Directors of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) for providing me the opportunity to serve as Director General of the Film Academy of the Philippines (FAP),” she wrote.

“It was a very challenging stint, to say the least, and the pandemic did not make it any easier, either,” Velez said.

Most recently, the FAP drew criticism from various industry groups for its non-submission of the country’s official entry to the Academy Awards for the foreign film category in December 2021. At the time, the FAP cited lack of funds due to the pandemic as the reason for not being able to start the process of selecting an entry.

“There are still a lot of work to be done at FAP, in fact, too many to count,” Velez said on Tuesday. “The organization continues to be not self sustaining and will never survive without intervention, at this point.”

“It has no credible source of income, or, government support to make ends meet. The next DG will surely have his work cut out for him, or her,” she added.

While the board of CCP deliberates on the appointment of a new director general, FAP treasurer Manny Morfe will be the organization’s acting officer-in-charge, according to Velez.