On dela Cruz's work conditions, his contemporaries Rez Cortez, Nelson Anderson, Roland Dantes, Franco Guerrero, Rusty Santos, and his director Eddie Nicard found his financial treatment appalling. For dela Cruz, Nicart said the Caballes provided shelter, care, travelled the world, while underpaid at $500 per films with a per diem. Nicart said the Caballes were wealthy and treated dela Cruz like a dog. They would be friendly to him, but would ask him to leave the room in any business meeting or when inconvenient. On that matter, Anderson felt that dela Cruz was treated like a puppet by everyone and the Caballes were too possessive not allowing him to grow and think for himself. Cortez said, while working on the first film where dela Cruz received the top billing, he suspected that dela Cruz wasn't well compensated. Cortez knew dela Cruz's producers took care of his basic needs, but found it strange when he saw dela Cruz arrive on set in a utility vehicle and not his private car. While feeling dela Cruz deserved a better compensation, Cortez concluded that he was probably happy, considering where he came from and to get a great deal of life experiences. Film editor Edgardo "Boy" Vinarao, said that from his point of view dela Cruz was treated like a little prince. According to the filmmakers of the documentary "The Search for Weng Weng," when they tracked down the couple to get their account, Peter had died in 2007 while Cora never responded on the matter.