Kapamilya actress Janella Salvador as she renews her contract with ABS-CBN on February, 2024. Camille Naredo, ABS-CBN News

MANILA -- Actress and singer Janella Salvador remains a Kapamilya, after she signed a new contract with ABS-CBN on Friday, February 23.

Salvador has been with ABS-CBN since 2012, when she debuted on "Be Careful With My Heart." Since then, she has appeared in a variety of television shows and movies, most recently starring as Valentina/Regina Vanguardia on "Darna."

Present during Salvador's contract signing were ABS-CBN president and CEO Carlo Katigbak, chairman Mark Lopez, COO for Broadcast Cory Vidanes, CFO Rick Tan, Star Magic head Laurenti Dyogi and her manager, Manny Valera.

"I love ABS-CBN. You guys, we grew together. I grew [up] here at ABS-CBN. I started here, and I do not see an end to it," Salvador said after she signed her contract.

In an emotional speech, Salvador acknowledged that her journey with ABS-CBN had not been a smooth one.

"When the pandemic hit, we both had reasons and possibilities to let each other go, with the shutdown, and with me getting pregnant," she recalled. "The people around me were very scared for me. And with some people still believing that getting pregnant is career suicide and all of that, people around me were really nervous for me."

"But I'm so thankful and glad that we did not let each other go. We're still here, I stood up for you, and you stood up for me, and I'm very, very thankful for that," she added. "Thank you for standing up for me."

She did not deny that there had been some "tampuhans" but Salvador stressed that she had cleared the air with Dyogi, notably during their trip to Milan, Italy for "ASAP Natin 'To" in September 2023. 

"I treat you guys like my family, [and] I know that within family, there is communication. And he told me that I can talk to him anytime, and that he wants me to know that I have a father in him, and that I can speak to him anytime," Salvador said of Dyogi.

Salvador is now looking forward to more meaningful projects with ABS-CBN, as she promised that her "work is not yet done."

"I know deep down that my story hasn't even reached its best part yet. Within the past 13 years, I have grown and learned so much, and I wouldn't have had it any other way -- growing with you," she said.

Salvador, 25, previously appeared on "Oh My G!," "Born For You," and "The Killer Bride," among other shows. In 2023, she co-starred with Piolo Pascual in the Metro Manila Film Festival entry "Mallari," for which she earned a Best Supporting Actress nomination. She will star in the movie "Under Parallel Skies" with Thai actor Win Metawin in April.

Among those who congratulated Salvador on her new contract were her Darna co-stars Jane de Leon and Joshua Garcia, "Mallari" co-star Piolo Pascual, her mother Jenine Desiderio, and three-year-old son Jude. 

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