• Some movies have been using “boycott” as a reason for not earning in theaters this week
• Promotion of bloggers and free advertisement on Facebook was enough to promote their movies
• People would really love to support their favorite actors/actresses even if somebody would call for a “boycott”

It’s “boycott for Filipino movies in cinemas” – Movie outfits have been using this as a reason for not earning in theaters this week.

We are aware that there were some speculations on directors who were calling for a boycott, on social media, for Robin Padilla’s’ movie ‘Bato: The General Ronald Dela Rosa Story.’

But for Arjo Atayde’s movie and that of Gelli de Bellen with Ariel Rivera, are their movies been boycotted too?

It’s really hard to believe the fact that film outfits report that their movies have been boycotted as a reason for not gaining that much in the box-office. There were also rumors that Vice Ganda’s movie “Fantastica” was planned to be boycotted but still the movie earned more than 500 million pesos, and was viewed not only in the Philippines but also in other countries.

Shall we claim then that movies like “Sakaling Maging Tayo” of Elisse Joson and McCoy de Leon and “Boy Tokwa: Lodi ng Gapo” of Jose Manalo which flopped in cinemas have also been boycotted?

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Comedian and #EatBulaga dabarkads #JoseManalo stars in #VSTProductions first feature film presentation “#BoyTokwa: Lodi ng Gapo” directed by #TonyReyes. “Boy Tokwa” will open on January 8 in cinemas to be distributed by #AxiniteDigicinema

A post shared by LionhearTV (@lionheartvnet) on Jan 3, 2019 at 1:56am PST

The truth behind this seems to be the lack of promotion for the said Filipino movies. Perhaps, the producers believed that the promotion given bloggers and the free advertisement on Facebook were enough to promote their movies while minimizing their promotional expenses.

This can be a much more acceptable reason to explain why there were lots of Filipino movies that flopped this past week.

During the Metro Manila Film Festival of 2018 (MMFF), netizens already knew what movies they wanted to watch. There were series of interviews and promotions for the cast members of the entry movies.

Unlike those movies that recently flopped in cinemas, the filmfest entries were not announced early on and were kept it secret, while production were working on their respective projects, and only revealed the details of the movie entries when it was nearly showing in cinemas on Christmas Day.

Let’s us consider now which matters can have a bigger impact on why some movies are not viewed in cinemas, as well as the people who still love to support their favorite actors/actresses even if somebody would call for a “boycott” of their films.

• Jose Manalo is soon to star in his first lead role in Boy Tokwa: Lodi ng Gapo.
• The movie sought Boy Tokwa’s grandson, Andy Morelos Woods, looking about the truth about his grandfather.
• The movie opens on Tuesday, January 8.

Eat Bulaga co-host and comedian Jose Manalo stars in his first lead role ever in Boy Tokwa: Lodi ng Gapo. This remained under VST Productions and Tony Y. Reyes‘ direction. This is also based on the true story of Rodrigo Morelos‘ (aka Boy Tokwa) life which was from the accounts of his friends.

Boy Tokwa movie features his grandson seeking for the truth about his grandfather.

The movie sought Boy’s grandson, Andy Morelos Woods. He is heading back to the Philippines to search and ask for the truth about his grandfather. Andy learned that Boy’s ultimate dream was to go to USA.

Boy Tokwa’s dreams led him to be a con-artist.

Boy’s wit, ability and skills in card games became his tools of survival in Olongapo. He later became a con-artist that only targets foreigners. The community loved him due to his loving nature, generosity and loyalty to friends. In Olongapo, he met and courted Naval Officer Anne McArthur which was Gen. Douglas McArthur‘s granddaughter.

He, however, was turned down and led him to meet Patricia Woods, another Naval Officer. They got married and was blessed with a child. Boy found himself in conflict within his community which he also considered his family. Boy Tokwa also has Joey Marquez, Karel Marquez, Allan Paule, Buboy Villar and Gian Sotto in the cast. The movie opens on Tuesday, January 8.

• Netizens called out Eat Bulaga hosts for poking fun at domestic violence.
• Twitter users expressed their disappointment regarding the jokes made in the ‘Juan For All, All For Juan’ segment.

Domestic violence is a serious global issue. Women mostly suffer from abuse everyday and there are times that they can’t do anything about it.

This is why an episode of noontime show Eat Bulaga sparked outrage from netizens.

According to a post by Facebook user Carl Kenneth Jaronay, he was watching the August 30, 2018 episode of the show’s Juan For All, All For Juan segment when he suddenly grew uncomfortable.

The hosts of the segment were said to be making jokes out of domestic violence.

I’m watching Eat Bulaga and I suddenly grew uncomfortable watching the ‘All for Juan, Juan for All’ segment.

The segment hosts are yet again making fun of a sensitive topic – this time, domestic violence.

He went though the moments in the segment wherein the hosts questioned a woman’s lifestyle as she’s living a more comfortable life than other ‘Sugod Bahay‘ winners. She then admitted to having two daughters with different fathers. She added that the reason behind her decision to leave the men is physical violence.

The winner, presumably living a comfortable life, was bombarded with questions about how she acquired her wealth. Along the conversion, the winner shared her interesting relationship, admitting she had two daughters from two different fathers.

Winner was asked about the reasons why she left those previous relationships. She mentioned that she experienced physical violence, prompting her to leave them.

Jose Manalo joked about the situation and told her that maybe she nags too much which is maybe why her previous partners hit her. Jaronay then said hat it is not appropriate to joke about such a sensitive topic.

Jose proceeded to ask “baka bungangera ka kasi?”. Another host chided that it’s probably because “madaldal siya, eh.”

I don’t know about the hosts of Eat Bulaga but it’s NEVER right to make fun of domestic violence. Women in our country have long suffered from the issue and it’s inappropriate and insensitive to poke fun at such a sensitive topic. 

It did not end there as they jokingly asked if her third partner also abused her.

The netizen then listed down all the factors that were wrong with the particular episode.

Instead of dropping the topic, another host even proceeded to ask the winner “oh, etong pangatlo [relationship], binubugbog ka din ba?”

FYI, here’s a list of things that are NOT okay from today’s episode of Eat Bulaga:
– Making fun of domestic violence.
– Shaming of a woman for having three husbands.
– Victim blaming
– Telling a woman “magpakatino ka” after surviving
an abusive relationship.

Twitter user Louise Agatha King shared the post on her profile, saying that if Eat Bulaga won’t change their ways, they will lose their viewers.

If Eat Bulaga wouldn’t start being progressive, it will definitely lose its audience 10 years from now. I’m pretty sure that a lot of kids from the generation that I’m in will never tolerate watching EB with the kind of values that it promotes.

Netizens shared their reactions regarding the incident. Gillian said that the show makes use of the people’s situations for money and ratings.

EAT BULAGA is a total garbage. For the longest time their program exploited the suffering of their contestants in return for money and ratings. Kadiri.

@collisionc0rse shared another incident wherein the hosts encountered a lesbian couple.

pipol, meron pang one time may winner sila na both women na may relasyon. yung mga tanong sa kanila sobrang awkward. i think si jose manalo di siya nagiisip bago magsalita minsan eh. yung mga tanong niya “handa ka naman kung balang araw iwan ka niya?” like dude

parang gusto niyang sabihin na ang relasyon nila do magtatagal kasi theyre both lesbians??? grabe! naloka ako nung time na naririnig ko yun. bwiset siya grabe

@Nhielskie12 said that a “perfect” show in the country doesn’t really exist.

To be honest, wala naman ng naging perfect na show sa Pinas lahat may kritiko. Manuod ka sa Showtime kesho nilalait daw yung mga audience, pag nanuod ka naman sa Eat Bulaga ganun din ang comment sa hosts.. wala naman perfect na show lahat nalang napuna ng Pinoy.

@MissPinkGirl234 expressed that as long as there’s someone joking about such a sensitive matter, people will not take it seriously.

Hangaang may magbibiro at nagbibiro sa mga seryosong isyu katulad ng domestic violence, maraming mag-iisip na okey lang gumawa ng biro sa ganitong mga bagay.

Nakakahiya. MARAMI NANONOOD SA KANILA! Hindi ba sila nag-iisip??

@LinneaHerself stated how people behind the show encourage such a behavior.

But some of the people in Eat Bulaga are trash though. And they encourage this behaviour. Just look at Tito Sotto. I know he’s made a joke about single moms a while back. But the “masa” will tolerate this. Why? They “help” the poor. Money in exchange for dignity, sadly.

• Eat Bulaga celebrates its four decades on the Philippine television.
• It is the longest-running noontime variety show in the country.

Eat Bulaga has reached its 40 years on TV and it is already a huge achievement for the books; considering these days, the people’s attention span is shorter, and it has become a struggle for television programs to come up with new ideas that will hook their viewers, maintain the numbers and even attract more for years. Most TV shows last on air for at least 10 years.

Among other noontime variety shows, only Eat Bulaga! can be considered as legendary. Since it started in 1979, this year–it is turning 40. For four decades, the show has made so many memories that have entertained viewers in and out of the country.

In celebration of the show’s anniversary, here are 40 facts that you may or may not know about:

1. The main trio of Eat Bulaga started their television careers with their then onscreen rivals, Apo Hiking Society‘s Danny Javier, Jim Paredes, and Buboy Garrovillo.

2. The groups made a debut in the 1970s gag show titled ‘Okay Lang’ which aired in the number one TV network at that time, Channel 13.  It was on television from 1973 to 1974.

3. The trio was first offered their own noontime show on RPN Channel 9, however, they declined. At that time, they were not yet ready to compete against another show ‘Student Canteen’, who was also produced by Program Philippines, Inc., the producer of their show, ‘Discorama’.

4. ‘Eat Bulaga!’ was coined by Joey de Leon from the popular child’s play, ‘It Bulaga’ or peek-a-boo. The word ‘it’ was replaced by ‘eat’ since its timeslot is lunchtime.

5. In its early beginnings, the show wasn’t exactly a success at first. The show’s average rating was only 5.3% while their competitor’s is 57.6%.

6. Along with the struggle with its ratings, the show also struggled financially. Their advertising rates went down to Php750 when the standard rate at that time was Php2,000. It led them to entertain movie trailers, which paid less than regular commercials.

7. Since the PBA Games and Eat Bulaga! had the same producer at that time, the income from the games were used to save the noontime show. The show, however, continued to fail financially and it came to the point that even the hosts were not paid for their talent fees.

8. When there was finally enough cash to pay the hosts at least half of their monthly salary, it was said that the production coordinator accidentally left the money in a cab.

9. After Eat Bulaga!‘s first anniversary, the staff were given a three-month ultimatum by Romy Jalosjos, who was the show’s producer. He warned them to improve the ratings or else the show will be cancelled.

10. Luckily, the show’s contest ‘Mr. Macho’ became a hit and Eat Bulaga! won with the ratings for the first time. The said segment-contest was a sponsored that intended to promote the movie ‘You Can’t Stop the Music’ starring the Village People. Eat Bulaga’s ratings rose up to 31%, which was two points higher than Student Canteen‘s.

11. After getting fired from Student Canteen, Coney Reyes‘s transfered to Eat Bulaga! It coincided with the launch of the Domsat (domestic satellite). With the new technology, provinces were finally able to watch the show simultaneously with Metro Manila viewers.

It also meant that it became easier for the advertisers to market their products.

12. Eat Bulaga! had a mascot named Bikoy Baboy.

13. GMA Network launched a new rival show named Launch Date and it nearly kicked-out Eat Bulaga! from the top spot. The show was hosted by Randy Santiago. But Eat Bulaga! remained number one, thanks to a segment hosted by a little Aiza Seguerra.

14.  As an act of gratitude, TAPE, Inc. continued to put Aiza Seguerra under its payroll during the years that the child star was no longer in the noontime show. Eat Bulaga! also got Aiza a college plan which she later used to enroll at the UST College of Music.

15. Eat Bulaga transfered to ABS-CBN in 1989 and it helped the network’s ratings reach an all-time high. The noontime show was packaged with three other programs such as Aguila, Coney Reyes on Camera, and Okay Ka, Fairy Ko.

16. The noontime show left the Kapamilya network six years later, after they decided to produce their own programs and stop airing block-time shows.

17. GMA Network welcomed Eat Bulaga with open arms and made it the only local show to be aired consecutively in three different television networks.

18. When Eat Bulaga transferrd to GMA Network, Nova Villa, who then played as the professor in Bulagaan, chose to remain loyal to ABS-CBN. Vic and Joey were assigned to take over the role until Tito Sotto returned in 2009.

19. Eat Bulaga!‘s ‘Lottong Bahay’ was considered as one of the largest Proof of Purchase raffle draws in the history of local television. The first grand draw had to be conducted in the Quezon City Memorial City with a forklift due to the overwhelming amount of entries.

20. Samantha Lopez, the popular round girl in the numbers game ‘Rambulaga’, was christened by Joey de Leon as “Grasya”. He reasoned that her role of carrying the winning numbers “brought in a lot of graces of heaven” to the lucky winners, hence the nickname.

21. Before Jose Manalo became a comedian and one of the show’s hosts, he initially worked as the show’s floor director.

22. The Broadway Centrum was supposed to be Eat Bulaga!‘s temporary studio, however, it has since become the show’s official home.

23. Kaserola ng Kabayanan was the pioneer game that inspired future segments such as Meron o Wala and Laban o Bawi. It’s also gave rise to MTB‘s Pera o Bayong.

24. October 4 is a sad but unforgettable date for the show since Rio Diaz-Cojuangco, a former co-host, died of cancer in 2004. Five years later, Francis Magalona, who also died of cancer in 2009.

25.  Helen Vela was the show’s eternal pinch-hitter for almost 10 years. Her career in Eat Bulaga! started when she cheered, as part of the audience, her friend Coney Reyes when the latter was welcomed as the new female co-host in 1982. She hosted the Kilometrico quiz segment in the early 80s.

26. Ryan Agoncillo, who is currently one of Eat Bulaga!‘s co-hosts, is as old as the noontime show.

27. Can you believe that broadcast journalist Arnold Clavio joined Eat Bulaga!‘s Flashback competition in 1983 but lost? He went back to try his luck on another dance segment titled Footloose but he didn’t make past the audition round.

28. Eat Bulaga! won as the Best Entertainment Special of the Year (for the program’s 25th anniversary show) during the 2005 Asian Television Awards.

29. Lani Mercado became a temporary co-host of the show, when Coney Reyes went on maternity leave. She didn’t become one of the show’s permanent co-hosts since she got pregnant as well.

• Netizens call out Maine Mendoza’s behavior towards crying Sugod Bahay winner.
• Maine Mendoza called out for ‘making fun’ of ‘Sugod Bahay’ winner whose son just died
• The host clarifies that they were not aware of the winner’s situation as they didn’t understand her at that time.

In the June 18 episode of Eat Bulaga!, Juan For All, All For One winner Leny Feliciano was being interviewed by hosts Maine Mendoza, Paolo Ballesteros, and Jose Manalo.

The segment was conducted at Calumpit, Bulacan.

The winner became very emotional as she started talking to the host and Jose stated “Leny, umiiyak ka ka kaagad, e. Natutuwa ka kaya ka umiiyak. Ayan na naman.” which Leny agreed with.

“Opo. Sobra pong tuwa dahil mapapalibing ko na ang anak ko. Makakabayad pa po sa funeraria.”

By that time, Joey de Leon asked Maine to repeat what Leny has said and the host started imitating the emotional mumbling of the winner.

Vic Sotto suggested that the staff give Leny some water to calm her down a bit. At that time, Maine, who was unaware of the situation and mimicked the winner’s mumbling once again.

A few netizens reacted at said behavior and labeled it as “insensitive” as if the host is making fun of the winner’s situation.

“I find this part so insensitive knowing that the sugod bahay winner’s son/daughter(not sure) just recently died and they still continue this sick joke of replicating her emotions on what she felt during that moment. You guys are so inconsiderate. @mainedcm @AngPoetNyo #JoseManalo”

Maine then replied to one Twitter user saying that they didn’t know the situation at first as they can’t understand what she was saying and they condole the death of Leny’s child.

“Nakikiramay po kami kay ate. Hindi po namin alam nung una na ganun pala ang pinagdadaanan niya bilang hindi po namin naintindihan yung una niyang sinabi.”

Watch the full clip below:

While the inconsolable Feliciano was speaking, Mendoza can be seen turning to the camera and making mocking expressions with her face.

Alden Richards and Maine Mendoza of the AlDub love team are not the first celebrities that were made famous by Eat Bulaga! Even before the country went gaga over this couple, there have been many unknowns that became popular through the longest running noontime show. They may not have conquered the world, but they made a name for themselves in the Philippines. You might still see some of them on TV while others have taken a different career path.

Let’s get to know the top 10 celebrities that Eat Bulaga! made famous.

10. Streetboys

Vhong Navarro and Jhong Hilario: two of It’s Showtime’s hosts are former members of the Streetboys who used to be backup dancers on Eat Bulaga!. They were on the noontime show when it was still airing on ABS-CBN, and they were pitted against the more popular Universal Motion Dancers (UMD). They were still dancing for Eat Bulaga when the noontime show transferred to GMA. While UMD was popular for their provocative dancing, Streetboys got famous for their break-dancing moves.

The group also starred in a few movies. Spencer Reyes was the one who got most of the attention back then and he was even paired up with Aiza Seguerra.

The AlDub craze has definitely taken the country by storm. Even various religious groups including Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), Radyo Veritas, and 100% Katolikong Pinoy have commended it for promoting Filipino marriage moral standards.

The Aldub love team rose to fame due to the accidental pairing of  Kapuso actor Alden Richards (Alden) and Dubsmash queen Maine Mendoza (Yaya Dub) in Eat Bulaga’s segment Kalyeserye. Because of the positive reception of fans and TV viewers to the unlikely couple, AlDub became a trending topic on various social media channels almost everyday, making  Richards and Mendoza household names.

During the episode in which Yaya Dub was forced to marry Frankie (Jose Manalo), Lola Nidora (Wally Bayola) shared words of wisdom about love and marriage which quickly became the talk of the whole nation.

“Ang pag-ibig ay … iniingatan, at ipinagkakaloob sa tamang panahon,” is one of Lola Nidora’s famous lines that captured the hearts of Filipinos.

Here are some tweets of support from various religious social media channels.