Dante Rivero Heads to the US for Back Treatment

Veteran actor Dante Rivero said he plans to travel to the United States for medical treatment following his exit from the television series Batang Quiapo. “I might go to the States for a while to have my back checked,” Rivero said in an interview on “Unplugged” with Julius Babao. “During tapings, everyone assists me and I need to stay seated. My back aches so much,” he added. The 79-year-old actor joked about the challenges of aging. His son, former actor Michael Rivero, who appeared in the 2018 film “Spirits: Reawaken,” is now based in the United States. Addressing questions about his character’s exit from “Batang Quiapo,” Rivero said production issues led to the decision. “There were unavoidable problems, so there was no choice. Coco Martin spoke to all of us and said we had to end our episode. Everything must come to an end,” he said. Industry observers believe the issue he referred to was the removal of ABS-CBN programming from TV5 on Jan. 2, 2026. . / TRC S