The Manila Bulletin's tabloid, Balita, printed an article about Eat
Bulaga!'s show in L.A., stating that the show flopped. Joey de Leon took umbrage and resigned irrevocably from
the Manila Bulletin where he writes a regular column.
Joey explained, "Sumusulat ako sa Manila Bulletin every day. Yung nabasa ko, e, kapatid na tabloid ng
Manila Bulletin. Ang nagsulat pa, e,
isang entertainment editor. Ang sinulat niya, e, nag-flop ang Eat Bulaga. Ako ay nagre-resign sa Manila Bulletin."
WHERE
IT ALL STARTED. Joey formally resigned his post as
columnist for the Manila Bulletin
last July 31. A column by Dindo Bellares in Balita's
July 29 issue said that Eat Bulaga!'s
show in L.A. was a flop. The columnist said the rumors started on the Internet. It was no wonder, he wrote,
that the L.A. Sports Arena was empty because GMA-7 still had no concrete grip
on Filipinos in the U.S. At the end he said that Eat Bulaga! lacked emotional investment.
JOEY
AIRS HIS SENTIMENTS. On Startalk, Joey was interviewed by his co-hosts Lolit Solis and Butch
Francisco. The clearly disappointed Joey had a lot to say about the issue.
"Una
sa lahat, maliit pa ako, e, kaibigan ko na ang press," Joey started. "Wala sa
akin ‘yan. Pero sa particular na ito, e, nag-react ako dahil may pinakita kami,
e. Hindi ko mapalagpas ito. Mapapatawad ko lahat iyon, kahit sabihin na 'pangit
ang show niyo for 29 years, sukang-suka ako sa Eat Bulaga'. Okey lang ‘yan, personal na opinion ‘yan. Pero sa isang
event na tapos na at binaliktad mo, galit ako doon. Dalawa lang naman ang
kinagagalitan ko: Ang sinungaling at ang mandaraya.
"May isa kasing linya doon na hindi ko
mapalagpas," Joey said. "Ito, dadahan-dahanin ko. Quotation, ‘Sa katunayan,
nakausap ko ang isang GMA-7 executive at kinumpirma ang pagka-flop ng Eat Bulaga!.'"
CHALLENGE NUMBER ONE. For claiming
that he talked with a GMA-7 executive who confirmed that the Eat Bulaga's show in L.A. was a flop, the writer got a surprising challenge from Joey:
"Pare, o mare-pare—hindi ko
alam katauhan mo, e—hinahamon kita. Bibigyan kita ng ticket papuntang Estados
Unidos. First-class or business-class. Sagot ko ito for two, para sa kasama mo.
Isang linggong stay sa kahit saang hotel sa Amerika. Sagot ko ito with pocket money
na five thousand dollars."
What's the catch?
"Sabihin mo lang kung sino'ng GMA-7
executive na ‘yon."
"Yung flop okey lang sa akin. Nasulat
na, e. Yun lang parteng iyon," Joey said. "Doon natin malalaman, na chummy-chummy
ka sa mga GMA-7 executive, e. Hindi ko alam yun, e."
CHALLENGE NUMBER TWO. As if the first
challenge wasn't enough, Joey made another one that took even his fellow
hosts aback.
"Balita ko, e, uma-attend ka ng presscon
sa GMA. Ito ngayon ang hamon ko pati sa GMA. ‘Pag inimbita
ninyo ulit ang taong ‘yan, e, magre-resign ako sa lahat ng shows ko sa GMA."
When Joey saw the genuine look of shock
from Lolit and Butch, he said, "Ganoon katindi ang galit ko sa taong yun. Doon pa
lang sa linyang yun ‘Sa katunayan, nakausap ko.' Ganoon kabigat, e. Kausap mo
yung executive ng GMA. Sabihin mo lang pangalan sa akin noong GMA [executive].
Ganoon lang, tapos bati na tayo."
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