If there is one single celebrity who has earned the title “Most Influential Icon,” that would be Vice Ganda, aka Jose Mari B. Viceral.
Vice Ganda has it covered.
He is in all major platforms: TV and online, concert stage, advertising scene, business world, cause-oriented community.
He is an actor, particularly beloved for his comedy; a box-office draw during a time when moviegoers still have to make a habit of going to cinemas again; the first among equals even in the company of individually talented hosts; a concert performer with sold-out appearances in impressive arenas; an endorser of big-name brands, including a foreign food chain; an entrepreneur; and, giving him more heft, an advocate of the LGBTQIA++ community.
In October 2017, Vice launched his own make-up brand, VICE Cosmetics.
Vice has also become a business partner to fellow celebrities and to owners of select bars and pubs.
In July 2024, Vice launched his own comedy club, the VICE Comedy Club. Three months earlier, in March, he opened Eureka, a club in Angeles City.
All are more than modest investments; they require millions.
It seems that ABS-CBN's premier star can do no wrong.
For this reason, Vice tops PEP's Most Influential List of 2024, and is the entertainer we crown the ICON.
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THE INFLUENCE OF VICE GANDA
In showbiz, Vice Ganda is a constant presence, totally hard to ignore, as main host of the daily top-rating noontime show, It’s Showtime.
Being the main man, when he does not show up at work, his absence is felt. The program loses much of the spark that It’s Showtime fans expect.
No one can ignore the fellow. Anything he says, especially when this is satirical and concerns current issues, lands him in both traditional and social media, where he earns either huge applause or huge criticism.
If this says anything, it is that whatever Vice says, people listen.
Vice’s huge following on social media, where highs and lows are quantifiable, sums up in millions: he has 15.6 million followers on X, making him the most followed local celebrity in the popular platform.
Counting. more followers, he has 11 million on Instagram, 13.4 million on Tiktok, 19 million on Facebook, and 8.22 million on YouTube.
In 2020, Forbes Asia, listing the Asia-Pacific's most influential celebrities on social media, named Vice Ganda among the Top 100 Digital Stars.
The celebrity hashtag #ViceGanda is terribly popular in the vast world of socmed. Video clips of him lifted from his noontime show and his sold-out concerts are among the most watched.
What's more, Vice has elevated the status of the LGBTQIA community, particularly those working in the local entertainment industry.
Being a member of the community himself, Vice has done what only a numbered few of his colleagues have done—break the barrier for gay actors who are often relegated to roles as sidekick and comic relief in movies.
It certainly helps that Vice proof. He has top-billed movies that have turned into box-office hits. Among these— Petrang Kabayo (2010), The Unkabogable Praybeyt Benjamin (2011), Girl, Boy, Bakla, Tomboy (2013), The Amazing Praybeyt Benjamin (2014); and Partners in Crime (2022).
Being the face of the LGBTQIA community, Vice has made the public aware—if not actually accept—the contribution of gays in our society.
To this day, Vice is an influential voice for inclusivity.
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VICE GANDA STARTED YOUNG
Vice Ganda admits that, even as a child, he has always been ambitious.
But, he adds, he never ever imagined the impact he would have today.
“Pero ever since, kahit bata pa ako, every day in my life, lahat ng gagawin ko ginagalingan ko lang talaga,” he says in the YouTube interview by businessman George Royeca in September 2023.
Vice says he initially dreamt of becoming a lawyer, but fate had a different course for him.
In college, Vice—who had not come out of the closet—was “exposed to gay life with classmates.”
Finally, embracing his gayhood, he discovers his passion for entertainment.
The next turn of events would prepare Vice precisely for what he is today.
For the first time in his life, Vice discovers the freedom and joy of being himself with his circle of friends. This came at a cost, though. He lost his scholarship.
Vice explains that his parents never had to pay for his tuition because he was always an achiever, and that kind of drive was justifiably rewarded with scholarships.
Now afraid to tell his family about the free tuition he had lost, Vice decides to fill in the gap by looking for work.
In 1998, he began working the comedy bars. In them, he honed his skills in stand-up comedy, singing, shimmying, and audience rapport—all the big things a successful entertainer needs.
While Vice was working he continued with his Political Science course at the Far Eastern University, his alma mater since his high-school years.
At the same time, his talent fee as standup comedian at the comedy bars was being fattened up by tips he would receive from happy customers.
“Since ang laki ng tip," Vice says, "hindi ko kinukuha yung talent fee ko.
“Minsan pag kinuha ko yung talent fee ko, PHP50,000 na siya. Savings talaga! So nakapag-save ako talaga.”
Seeing how this was a good living, Vice stopped his schooling. He would thus be unable to finish his undergraduate degree.
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VICE ON BEING THE BIG FISH IN A SMALL POND
Still, it would take a long 14 years, or the year 2012, for Vice to go mainstream.
Initially, Vice says, luck was not on his side. While colleagues were already making names for themselves in showbiz, Vice was stuck struggling it out in comedy bars.
He tells the story: “Ang tagal ko ding puchu-puchu. Ang tagal mong starlet, ang tagal ko ding yung madaanan lang ng camera… Sobrang tagal din…
“There was a point in my career na sobrang successful na ni Ethel Booba, sobrang successful ni Chokoleit, sobrang successful ni Pooh…
“Si Anton Diva nagkaroon na ng recording, nagkaroon na siya ng MTV, sinali na siya sa isang music festival…”
Vice admits to feeling left behind. In his words, “Napag-iwanan.”
“Pero, feeling ko talaga," he says with confidence, "I really believe na pinakamagaling ako sa kanilang lahat.”
Even so, he finds himself questioning why his colleagues were being given big opportunities and he was not.
“Sabi ko, ‘Maybe it wasn’t for me.’”
But Vice is not the kind to accept defeat. He seizes this as an opportunity for himself.
“Sabi ko, ‘Inyo na yung mainstream but I will be the Queen of Comedy Bars.’
“It’s okay that I will be the biggest fish in a small pond, kaysa naman yung I am the smallest fish in the big pond.”
Vice not only says it, he makes it happen: “Kinarir ko talaga. Kinarir ko yung comedy bar.
"Performing onstage, sisiguradihin kong sa gabing iyon, mas applauded ako kesa sa kanila.
“Ako, mag-isa lang ako pero mas mahaba yung pila ko kesa sa kanila," he says of the customers coming in. "Concert ang binibigay ko, hindi siya regular gig.”
Vice also says that, through all those years, he continued to evolve as a comedy-bar performer.
When acoustic ballad became hot, for instance, he performed acoustic ballads and incorporated this into his standup comedy.
Later, Vice says, the same colleagues who had made it in showbiz would introduce him as the “Queen of Comedy Bars” when they would perform together in those bars.
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VICE KNOWS HIS WORTH
It is apparent that one of Vice Ganda’s strengths is that he knows his worth.
Another is that he knows that if he wants to go far, he has to be good at selling himself.
Vice explains, “You have to consider yourself as a businessman and yourself as a business.
“May nagsabi nga sa akin dati, isa sa mga big bosses ng ABS, ‘That’s why you are like that, because you act like a manager. You don’t act like a talent or an artist. You are a manager. You know how to manage yourself, your career. Kahit nga wala ka ngang manager, kaya mo na.’”
By his reading, “Kailangan mong mag-adapt at mag-evolve din sa need, kung ano yung hype, without having to lose your brand. I will keep my brand, but I will collaborate, and entertain, and adapt.”
Vice goes on to say that, growing up, he and his siblings were taught to believe in themselves and their capabilities.
“Na-instill sa amin yung self-worth, na-instill sa amin yung, ‘Magaling ka. Matalino ka.’
“Kasi pag bata ka, lagi kang uma-attend ng Recognition Day, alam mong matalino ka.
“Kung lagi kang may award, alam mong magaling ka.
"Kung lagi kang nanalo, alam mong magaling ka.
"Kung scholar ka, alam mong, ‘Magaling ako.’
“Bata pa lang ako, naniniwala akong magaling ako. Kasi bata pa lang ako meron na akong napapatunyan.
“Nananalo na ako sa mga contest. Meron na akong yabang sa sarili ko. Meron na akong paniniwala sa sarili ko kasi may napatunayan akong gano’n. May value.”
VICE GANDA’S GREATER PURPOSE
Amid all this, it can be said that, to many, Vice Ganda’s biggest contribution is his elevation of the LGBTQIA+ community in the country.
A user on X put it well in a post on December 4, 2024.
The netizen posts (published as is): “dati, lgbtqia+ representation on national tv was barely there, lagi lang sidekick or comic relief. Pero si @vicegandako ang nagpatunay na mali yun. She broke barriers, carried abs-cbn through its toughest times, and proved na pwedeng maging center stage ang isang lgbt icon.”
Vice Ganda represents a whole community that decries discrimination and fights for equality.
Initially, he admits, it is not anywhere in his plans to become a force of influence.
He says, “Hindi siya bahagi ng mga plano ko nung simula, na maging ganito kalaki… yung icon na sinasabi.
“Parang sa simula, I was doing everything for myself, just for myself.”
When he started working, he says frankly, “My only purpose, my sheer purpose was to earn. And then I was able to earn... earn big.”
Achieving this goal, he asked himself what his next purpose could be.
He adds, “Kasi hindi ka puwedeng maubusan ng purpose, e. Kasi tatamarin ka. Hihinto ka na.”
He decides that his next purpose would be to become famous.
“Ang foundation ko lagi, gagalingan ko because I want to earn. And then I earned. Ngayon, gagalingan ko pa lalo because I want to be popular naman.
“Parang binigay din naman. So, kumita na, sumikat na. So, my next purpose…”
Vice reveals that, at this time, he is hit by the realization that he, in truth, already has a huge impact on his audience.
He is not only able to entertain people, he inspires them—especially people “like” him.
“Sabi ko hindi na ‘to personal. So, yung mga achievements ko na personal naging achievement din pala nung mga taong nire-represent ko.”
He sees that what he has been doing only for himself actually has had an effect on those looking to him to inspire them.
“Hindi ko alam na meron palang gano’n. Because I was just doing it for myself. Ginagalingan ko ito kasi ako yun, e. I never settled for less.
“Pag binigyan ako ng opportunity, gagalingan ko yung opportunity na ‘yon. Tapos gagawin ko ‘to kasi meron akong plano para sa sarili ko.”
Vice discovers his next purpose—and it’s a far bigger one.
“Ito na yung purpose na hindi para sa akin, para sa ibang tao na.
“Yung ginagawa ko ngayon hindi lang para sa akin. Ginagalingan ko kasi alam ko may iba ding magtatagumpay sa tagumpay ko na ito, na tinatamasa ko, may ibang makikinabang…
“May isang batang bakla na nanonood d’yan. Pag nakita niya, ‘Ay, pareho kaming kumilos,’ ‘Ay ganyan din akong magsalita, e,’ ‘Ay, gusto ko ganyan ding buhok, e. Puwede palang successful ‘yon.’”
Vice speaks of the stereotypes that society has locked gays in.
“Before, there is stigma that gays are successful in parlors, or gays that are sidekicks in movies.
"Hindi ka bida.
“Pag artista ka, ‘tapos bakla ka, comedy ka, ‘tapos babatukan ka. Hindi puwede yung, ‘Ay, bading ka ‘tapos ikaw yung bida, ‘tapos boss ka don sa character.’
“So, ngayon, yung ginagawa ko, itong tagumpay na ‘to, pinu-push ko pa lalo…
“Inaangat ko pa nang inaangat yung sarili ko lalo, dahil sa pag-angat ko na ‘to, hindi lang ako ang nakikinabang.
"Maraming tao ang nakikinabang at nakakaangkas sa tagumpay ko na iyon.”
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