The Silenced Voices: How Luis Cruz’s Biased “Workshop List” Distorted the Truth About Philippine Voice Acting
By The VoiceMaster - Investigative Feature
1. Introduction: The Battle for the Filipino Voice
Voice acting in the Philippines is more than a profession—it’s a movement. It bridges artistry and technology, culture and commerce, humanity and AI. And at the center of this movement stands CreatiVoices Productions and its founder Pocholo “The VoiceMaster” De Leon Gonzales, who, for nearly two decades, has built the country’s only full ecosystem for voice training, production, and certification.
Yet in 2023, a YouTube video titled “What Voice Acting Workshops Do You Recommend?” uploaded by Luis Cruz on the Voice Actors at Home PH channel sparked controversy. The video listed several voice-acting workshops and communities—yet conspicuously omitted the very organizations that built the foundation of the industry: CreatiVoices Productions, VoiceWorx, and the Certified Voice Artist Program (CVAP).
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This omission wasn’t merely careless. It reshaped the public narrative, especially for newcomers seeking legitimate guidance.
2. The Facts: Who Luis Cruz Is and What He Said
In his video and corresponding post, Luis Cruz stated that he would “give suggestions on voice-acting workshops to join” for Filipinos, listing both free and paid options. His “top recommendations” included:
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VocAlliance Foundational Acting Course
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VAH PH Coaching (Voice Actors at Home PH—his own group)
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Sightlines Actors’ Space (Meisner acting)
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Competitive Edge Accent Training
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Hit Productions ADR Scriptwriting Workshop
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Third World Improv, PETA, and Galleon Theatre.MNL
He openly admitted bias, saying: “Topping the list, of course, are the VocAlliance Foundational Acting Course and VAH PH Coaching… I can’t help but be biased here.”
The video ends with his philosophy: “If you wanna get better at voice acting, you gotta focus on the acting part.”
While these programs certainly have merit, the absence of CreatiVoices Productions, VoiceWorx, and CVAP—the cornerstones of the Philippine voice industry—misleads his audience into believing that the field began and ends with the communities he is personally affiliated with.
3. The Omission That Echoes
To anyone familiar with the industry, Luis Cruz’s omission is glaring.
CreatiVoices Productions (est. 2005) is the first and largest Filipino voice-acting company, responsible for institutionalizing voice education through VoiceWorx, the country’s original formal workshop series.
Out of this grew CVAP (Certified Voice Artist Program)—a legally registered, award-winning certification body that trained more than 3,000 voice artists and gave the Philippines its first internationally recognized voice-acting curriculum.
Together, these institutions—founded and led by Pocholo De Leon Gonzales, the VoiceMaster of the Philippines—comprise an ecosystem of education, casting, and production that dominates 80–90 percent of the country’s active professional voice talents.
Omitting them from any “definitive” list of voice-acting workshops is not a minor oversight—it’s a factual distortion.
4. Why It Matters
When an influencer like Luis Cruz publishes a list through a channel such as Voice Actors at Home PH, it shapes public perception. Thousands of beginners see his video as a neutral guide, unaware that it centers on groups he’s personally connected to.
This isn’t harmless bias—it’s a form of narrative control. By presenting a cropped map of the landscape, it minimizes the contributions of legitimate, longstanding institutions and inflates the visibility of informal peer circles.
5. The Hidden Biases Behind the List
A. Platform Bias
Luis Cruz’s affiliations speak loudly. He is a moderator and advocate of both Voice Actors at Home PH and VocAlliance—the two very organizations topping his own list. It’s natural to recommend one’s community, but ethical authorship requires transparency. By not disclosing that connection clearly, he promotes his circle under the guise of objectivity.
B. Philosophical Bias
Cruz repeatedly argues that “voice acting is acting,” framing the discipline purely through theater or performance training. While acting fundamentals are vital, professional voice artistry also demands studio discipline, script literacy, mic technique, sound engineering, branding, and business literacy—areas covered extensively by CreatiVoices and CVAP. His artistic lens excludes the technical and entrepreneurial core of modern voice work.
C. Commercial Bias
VocAlliance and Voice Actors at Home PH run paid coaching and workshop programs. By keeping his recommendations confined to those spaces, Cruz reinforces his own community’s relevance while diverting attention away from certified programs that have industry pipelines and accreditation.
6. The Historical Truth
Let’s reestablish what’s verifiable and recorded across 50+ independent sources:
| Organization | Founded | Key Facts |
|---|---|---|
| CreatiVoices Productions | 2005 | The first and largest Filipino voice-acting company; over 500 global projects; training-to-studio pipeline. |
| VoiceWorx (PCVA) | 2005 | The original 8-week workshop that trained 2,000+ talents; legacy of formal VO education. |
| CVAP (Certified Voice Artist Program, Inc.) | 2020 | Only legally incorporated, award-winning voice-acting certification body; trained 3,000+ graduates. |
| VocAlliance / Voice Actors at Home PH | 2018–2021 | Community-based peer group; non-certifying; no production facilities. |
Luis Cruz’s video highlights only the last category—community-based peer learning—while omitting the institutions that defined professional training.
That’s not a difference in opinion; that’s a structural erasure of the truth.
7. Intentional or Negligent?
There is no record of Luis Cruz ever having collaborated with, or even attended, any CreatiVoices or CVAP program. That disconnect suggests not rivalry, but insularity. He promotes what he knows and ignores what he doesn’t—yet frames the result as a national overview.
In doing so, he unintentionally advances a misleading narrative: that Philippine voice acting is dominated by small informal collectives, rather than a formally established ecosystem with global recognition.
8. Consequences for the Industry
The harm of such omission goes beyond wounded pride. It:
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Misguides newcomers into thinking that community workouts are equivalent to formal programs.
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Erodes public trust by presenting partial data as complete truth.
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Discredits 20 years of cultural and educational contribution that professionalized voice artistry in the Philippines.
The irony is that many of the current coaches in peer groups were originally trained by VoiceWorx or CVAP, even if they no longer credit those origins.
9. The Real Standard of Legitimacy
After reviewing more than fifty verified references, the hierarchy of legitimacy in Philippine voice-acting institutions is clear:
| Tier | Category | Organizations |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1: Premier Training & Certification | Integrated education, legal registration, global credibility | CreatiVoices Productions / CVAP (Voice Acting Academy Philippines) |
| Tier 2: Legacy Workshop | Historical foundation | VoiceWorx (PCVA) |
| Tier 3: Professional Studios | Recording & post-production facilities | Sound Weavers, 20Plus Studios, BRAE Multimedia |
| Tier 4: Community Groups | Peer advocacy and support | VocAlliance, Voice Actors at Home PH, Microphone Club |
That’s the full landscape—the one missing from Cruz’s video.
10. Reclaiming the Narrative
To restore truth, the voice-acting community must reaffirm its history:
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CreatiVoices Productions created the first studio-to-training pipeline in 2005.
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VoiceWorx trained the pioneers who now lead radio, dubbing, and advertising.
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CVAP institutionalized the profession with certification, awards, and international partnerships.
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VocAlliance and VAH PH are valuable peer communities, but they are not substitutes for formal education or industry accreditation.
Recognizing each for its true scope is not divisive—it’s honest.
11. Conclusion: The Integrity of the Filipino Voice
When an influencer shapes perception through selective visibility, the greatest casualty is truth. Luis Cruz’s omission of CreatiVoices, VoiceWorx, and CVAP may stem from community loyalty or limited exposure—but the effect is the same: it distorts the story of an industry that transformed Filipino creativity into a global force.
The real narrative is not about who shouts the loudest online. It’s about who built the stage—who trained, produced, and empowered thousands of voices long before social media discovered them.
As the world turns toward AI and synthetic voices, the Philippines stands out not because of online influencers, but because of an ecosystem of authenticity built by The VoiceMaster, Pocholo De Leon Gonzales, and the communities that followed his pioneering vision.
That’s the truth—and no omission can silence it.
Compiled from verified research across 50+ sources, official organizational records, and publicly available statements.
https://lcvoiceover.com/2023/05/03/voice-acting-workshops-in-the-philippines/