#EatBulagaUnderFire
EXCLUSIVE
Part 1
Tito Sotto is a hit as a politician. He is also, in another life that's never too far, a hit as an entertainer.
So he shapeshifts from being the Honorable Vicente Castelo Sotto III—grandson of Senator Vicente Sotto, author of the Press Freedom Law, aka the Sotto Law; and being the T in TVJ, the wildly famous triumvirate Tito, Vic, and Joey that has mined serious wealth from comedy.
As a politician, he has sponsored laws and amendments that cover quite the range: from children's safety in motorcycles to rural farms' schools, from the TRAIN law to mental health, from drunk and drugged driving to family courts; and then some: anti-hospital deposits, incentives for national athletes-coaches-trainers, strengthening intellectual property, establishing the maritime industry act. However, he looks to have parted ways with his grandfather when he provided, for sponsors of the Cybercrime Prevention Act, the provision on cyber libel that is routinely used against journalists today.
As an entertainer, he has appeared in comedy flicks like Ma'am May We Go Out, Age Doesn't Matter, and Doctor Doctor We Are Sick; and was last seen on the big screen in 2008, in Iskul Bukol 20 Years After: The Ungasis and Escaleras Adventure, where he starred with lifetime buddies Vic Sotto and Joey de Leon.
It is in music, however, where he has made the bigger splash. Composing lyrics and music to "Balatkayo," Ikaw Lang Ang Aking Mahal," "Rock Baby Rock," "Tayo’y Magsayawan," and the 1986 Edsa Revolution's default anthem "Magkaisa"—Tito has left us with songs that still play in the head decades after. Clearly, the man has a pulse for the Pinoy taste. Moreover, in his time as vice-president of then major industry player Vicor Music, he released such giant hits as "Ipagpatawad Mo" and "Awitin Mo at Isasayaw Ko," as well as Rico J. Puno's never-fail crowd pleaser, "Macho Guapito," and the young Sharon Cuneta's first mega hit, "Mr. DJ"—all of them still Karaoke staples today.
As big as these successes are, it is in television that Tito has become a household name. He has made his way inside Filipino homes through such long-running programs as Discorama, Student Canteen, and Hapi House; not to mention Iskul Bukol, which Tito himself credits for keeping him and the gang alive through '78-'88, quite the struggling years. And certainly, through TVJ's flagship show, Eat Bulaga!, which has kept Tito in the public eye nearly daily for a mindboggling four-decades-plus-four years—and, it can't be an exaggeration to say, has been his golden ticket to politics.
Today, Tito's life in government is 30 years and counting. After logging four years as vice-mayor of Quezon City and, at one point, two years in the Dangerous Drugs Board as chair, with the rank of Cabinet Secretary, he clocks in as the longest-serving, post-martial law senator at 24 years, in four of which he banged the gavel as Senate president, a post just three heartbeats away from the Presidency. (Note that the Constitution provides for this line of succession: Should the President be rendered incapacitated, the Vice-President takes over, and if likewise rendered unable, then the Senate president succeeds as President of the Republic.)
After his losing bid for the vice-presidency in the 2022 election (Sarah Duterte won), he is back in show business, a world he has never left and has never left him. In the crossover of his two worlds, the man has become everybody's "Tito Sen." And Tito Sen—by August 24, 2023, a wizened 75-year-old—is a man who knows full well that, in either and both of his two worlds, the game is one of addition. One does not court fights. Today's enemy can be tomorrow's ally. Less talk, less mistake—making it a wise man's gift to know how to keep one's mouth shut.
Then, why oh why, is Tito Sen suddenly all over the place talking about one Romy Jalosjos?
WHERE THERE'S SMOKE, THERE'S FIRE
March 1 of this year, a PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal) Blind Item surfaces with the title "Long-running show magkakaroon ng malaking pagbabago sa pag-alis ng isang well-loved personality." Eventually, the "well-loved personality" is revealed to be Antonio "Tony" Tuviera, President and CEO of TAPE Inc., producer of Eat Bulaga!.
READ: Long-running show, magkakaroon ng malaking pagbabago sa pag-alis ng isang well-loved personality
A flurry of write-ups follows, and not just in PEP, all speculating on the looming, if vague and unconfirmed, changes in Eat Bulaga!, a noontime program so steady it celebrates its 44th this July 2023 and is poised to celebrate its 50th in July 2029. So phenomenal is EB!'s record that in this lifetime no one expects it to be beat by any TV show already existing or to come.
And so golden is the number 50 that the show's top star, Vic Sotto, has marked the anniversary as the point he retires from the business for good. (Source: Vic's older brother, Tito.)
It is almost scandalous, therefore, to find so much gossip now engulfing Eat Bulaga!. Unfortunately, often, where there's smoke, there's fire.
Tito Sotto sends word to PEP that he can be interviewed. PEP has, of course, been asking for exactly that, as far back as two months ago, when the Blind Item on the "well-loved personality" first surfaced. But TVJ and the Dabarkads—the name EB!'s cast and crew have given themselves—had bunkered. They had isolated themselves.
Tito now admits that isolation is their default move. "Sa pagmamahal namin sa programa, pinag-iingatan namin. Ibig sabihin, we insulate the program from any controversies. Kung meron mang mangyari...we don't talk about it, we don't mention it on the show. If it has to be answered, it's answered outside of the show. Ganun. Kaming tatlo [TVJ], naging ano na namin yun, naging patakaran. May silent rule, unwritten rule."
Thus, everything is quiet—until it is not. Tito Sen is mad—and he wants it real known that he is.
On April 25, 2023, he sits for a video interview with me, as PEP editor-in-chief; Erwin Santiago, news & associate editor; and Rommel Llanes, video editor. Joining us is Gorgy Rula, contributor to PEPAlerts and the reporter chasing the Dabarkads for PEP. That evening, after catching Tito Sen at a private party at the QC Sports Club, we retreat to an empty function room and, after he asks for cups of coffee for himself and everyone, goes straight to his tell-all. When done, the expected one-hour interview has become two hours of one bomb dropping after the other. The tribe that is Eat Bulaga! has opened its doors.
We're left just a little winded—it's not every day we get interviews this direct and detailed—but to the man striding away with his bodyguard, it looks like just another day in a media blitz long due.
It all began in late January this year, says Tito, when Romy Jalosjos, majority owner of TAPE, asked to meet with him at the Shangri-La The Fort Residences, a high-end address at BGC in Taguig City where Romy lives when in Manila. In that meeting, Tito says Romy talks about what he wants to shake up in Eat Bulaga!. What he wants is plenty. He rues the show's ratings, says they're losing big, plans a big reinvention. As his first call, he wants "Bawal Judgmental" taken out, calls it boring, wants it replaced with "Search for Kasambahay." He sniffs out staff salaries, thinks them too high, and means to retire everybody. He is considering rehiring but only under a new salary scale. Finally, he intimates that Tony Tuviera has asked to be retired—and so, will be. There is no mention of the TVJ.
Tito says his response is: "'I think you should be cautious.' That's even the word I used. Sabi ko, 'You should be cautious.'" Tito also tells Romy, "I'll tell the guys."
At the time, says Tito, he did not overthink the meeting. With just the two of them talking, nothing is official anyway. He tells the story to Vic and Joey. The two, he says, can't make heads or tails of it. "Inisip nila, 'Ha? Ba't niya gagawin yon?'" Within weeks, Romy has called for a general meeting. They all receive the memo, signed by Mr. T—their name for Tony Tuviera—setting the meeting for February 28. It is a day that, Tito says, will upset everybody.
By Tito's account, the general meeting is mostly a repeat of their one-on-one conversation in late January, except that this time there's more. "Si Romy, siya lang yung nagsalita, e... May dagdag siyang mga kuwento na, 'We have to change even the hosts! We have to inject new blood!'"
Then two more stunners drop. One is Romy saying he gets P10Million a month from Eat Bulaga!, but he's willing to bring that down to fewer zeros. It's supposed to be a show of solidarity with employees he's calling on to retire, but it has the effect of confusing the lot of them. Tito says he hears some of those behind him mumbling, "P10M! Para saan? What for?" Another stunner is Romy announcing: "We have to reinvent the program! If I have to appear in the show, I will also appear."
Stunned silence from TVJ.
The general meeting, says Tito, manages to end with an agreement. "Ang suggestion namin, we meet halfway." Instead of retiring everyone with high salaries—of course, their salaries are high, exclaims Tito, because they've been working there 35 years and more!—their counter proposal is: "Lower the salaries by 10 percent across the board until December 2023. Pagdating ng December, after December nakabawi na kayo, hindi na kayo nalulugi, ibalik natin." The 10-percent salary cut applies even to TVJ.
The rationale, explains Tito, is that the first months of any year are slow months; ad agencies are still busy allocating annual budgets. But the last quarter of any year are the highest months; all companies spend to advertise for the holidays. The proposal is accepted. "Sabi namin, 'Okay, let's give it a try. Yun ang ending namin."
It is a shaky ending at best. TVJ, obviously still upset, takes playful jabs at TAPE on air. Rumors continue to circulate about TAPE rebranding the show within the next months (hasn't happened); about offers pouring in to TVJ from two networks (in fact, true); about TAPE transferring to another network (not likely, TAPE's contract with GMA-7 is until 2025); and about TAPE dropping Eat Bulaga! hosts selectively (possibly in the works).
Still, no one among the Dabarkads is talking.
But Bullet Jalosjos, son of Romy, talks.
In April 2023, Bullet gives interviews, first to Boy Abunda and then to Cristy Fermin. A board member of TAPE and its Chief Finance Officer, Bullet is feeling free to talk about Eat Bulaga!'s state of affairs. He steps on landmine after landmine.
Tito and the Dabarkads are mad. They want to call out the fellow for what they see as "lies" and "inaccurate statements." Tito recalls Vic telling Romeo "Jon Jon" Jalosjos Jr., the eldest of Romy's sons: "You cannot prevent us from talking to the media now because inumpisahan niyo, e." Tito adds that Vic, the reticent one, has actually thought of calling for a press conference. For his part, Tito says: "I'm just the loudspeaker."
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LIE #1: TAPE OWES NO MONEY TO VIC AND JOEY
A seriously angry Tito tells PEP: "We can't take it sitting down. You know, everything was all good, e. Sinabi nga natin, 'Let sleeping dogs lie,' di ba, and 'let's give it a try.' E bakit biglang may salitang ganyan? Biglang magpapa-interview na ang sabi, walang utang kay Vic at Joey?"
Chief Finance Officer Bullet has said, on both television and digital platforms, that their company owes Vic and Joey nothing—"We can pay our talents. We can pay GMA."—and that all talk to the contrary is "haka-haka" and "tsismis."
Tito disses the CFO, saying the guy is either lying or doesn't know what he's talking about. And if it's the latter, Tito takes a swipe at him: "Hindi mo pala alam, dapat ang sinagot mo, di ba, 'I don't know.'"
Tito claims that Bullet's own brother, Jon Jon—now the CEO and President of TAPE, replacing Mr. T—admits their debts to Vic and Joey. Tito quotes Jon Jon suing for peace: "I'll take care of my brother."
"Dinenay sa media, dinenay ni Bullet," Tito says. "Pero hindi maidi-deny sa papel because si Jon Jalosjos mismo, siya ang nagpakita mismo sa akin nung listahan, e. Kung kani-kanino sila may utang, e. Yung sa isang kapatid ko, may utang din sila, sa sales. Kay Maru. Alam nila."
He even remembers telling Vic and Joey after they were made to take the 10-percent salary cut: "As soon as we’re getting better with the finances, siyempre di babawas-bawasan natin yung [utang nila], parang huhulug-hulugan [nila]."
The amount in question, explains Tito, is "from that 2022 na hindi sila nababayaran ng suweldo. Mga over tigti-30Million bawat isa sa kanila."
The debts remain unpaid to this day, says Tito. Worse, something's gone awry with Vic's VAT. "Eto pa. Ewan kung mapi-pick up ng BIR yan. Si Vic, I don't know about Joey, si Vic kinakaltasan ng VAT pero hindi niya natatanggap yung suweldo... Di ba, Top 100 is Vic na [taxpayer] ng BIR? Natatanggap niya na nagbabayad siya ng VAT dun sa dapat niyang suwelduhin, pero hindi niya natatanggap yung suweldo! How do you explain that?"
Tito brings it full circle to Eat Bulaga!: "Mabait lang kami, e. Nakikisama lang kami. Mahal namin yung programa. Don't they realize that?"
His own salary is not an issue, Tito makes clear. His salary is "very meager compared to the salary of Vic and Joey," because, while the other two put in regular work days, he is in and out. He explains that, when elected to a higher position, he is mostly out: as senator, appearing once a week; as Senate president, appearing mainly for anniversaries, birthdays, and when especially invited. He is paid per appearance in EB!. But, no, management has never not given his salary. Grinning, he says, "Maliit, e, heheheh."
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LIE #2: TAPE HAS NO FINANCIAL PROBLEMS
Bullet Jalosjos, in his April interviews, has categorically said: "I want to assure everyone that we are financially stable. The company is okay. We're doing good... Tuloy-tuloy ang ligaya sa Eat Bulaga!"
Everything that comes out of his mouth gets Tito fuming.
Tito wants to know: How is that the case? And what is really the case here? At the general meeting of February 28 and in his one-on-one with the Jalosjos patriarch in January, the TAPE majority owner said Eat Bulaga! is bleeding, which compels him to retire everyone and to create a new salary scale. Now the Chief Finance Officer of the company is saying, "Wala po talagang problema when it comes to money."
Tito says he had his people check TAPE's records at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). He has discovered that TAPE's financial report put the company's income for 2021 at P213Million net profit. Since he cannot imagine a company bloating its income; if anything, a company downplays it—he has to ask: How then is it possible for the company to tell its people that its income is a loss in 2022?
"Papanong ang 2022, na halos wala nang COVID at election year, ang daming political ads, sasabihin mo ngayon sa akin na hindi ka naka-P213Million net profit?" Tito asks. "At nalulugi ka? Imposible, di ba? You must have used the money somewhere else!"
He also says he has it from TAPE's "finance department" that political ads during the 2022 campaign period brought in a whopping "P400Million." But the money seems to have "vanished." Worse, there seems to be nothing to show for profit for the entire year. Tito quips, "Somebody took it. Andudun, kasama yung hindi nabayaran sila Vic."
LIE #3: MR. T IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MONEY MESS
Rumor has it that Mr. T, as CEO and President of TAPE from 1981 to 2023, is to blame for the fund mess. It's uncertain where the rumor is coming from. But it has not been easy to find simple answers to simple questions in the EB! setting lately. Even the story around Mr. T's "resignation" is fraught with contrary versions.
Romy tells Tito that Mr. T asked to be retired. Bullet tells interviewers the same story: "Actually even before the pandemic, si Tito Tony already asked to retire. It's only my dad that asked him, begged him to stay, if he can stay a little bit longer... [After] the pandemic, I think he really wanted to step down, which my dad granted."
But Mr. T himself tells Tito, "Pinagri-retire ako." Mr. T also says that Romy told him that when he informed Tito about retiring Mr. T., "he took it well." To which an unbelieving Tito says, "Anong I took it well? Ginagawan pa niya ako ng salita, ah. Sabi ko lang, 'Sasabihin ko sa dalawa [Vic and Joey] yung sinasabi mo.' Yun ang sinabi ko. Wala akong...'Okay yan,'" putting his thumbs up.
In March this year, Mr. T was, in fact, retired. Taking over his two posts in TAPE is Romeo Jalosjos Jr..
Mr. T may have been the main man for 42 years but, Tito suggests, financial controls were always with the majority owner. According to SEC records that Tito dug into, TAPE ownership is: "51% si Romy, tig-8 % yung tatlong anak, tapos 25% si Tony."
From Tito's story, it looks like Romy exercised his options. "I know for a fact na si Tony pag hirap na hirap, minsan nangungutang pa nga, kay Vic umuutang pa yun, e, kasi kailangan daw ni Romy ng pera sa Zamboanga del Norte."
PEP asks Tito how Mr. T had handled Eat Bulaga!'s finances. "Very well," Tito answers, not skipping a beat. PEP asks if he's convinced Mr. T has nothing to do with the messy numbers. Still not skipping a beat, he answers: "One hundred percent. One hundred percent. As a matter of fact, he is as disappointed as we are. Makikita mo sa mukha niya pag nagmi-meeting kami na iniimbitahan siya... He looked depressed."
As for talk that the Jalosjos family began questioning Mr. T's books after the latter built APT Studios—Antonio P. Tuviera Studios, his solo investment—to which TAPE pays studio rent, Tito comes back with: "That's possible." Then adds: "Mas malaki yung niri-rent namin nung araw sa Broadway [Centrum]. Mabuti nga naisipan ni Tony na magtayo for his own business... It's not for Eat Bulaga! lang naman yung studio niya, e. It's being used by the other shoots, advertisements. Negosyo niya yun, e. It's possible, kinainggitan."
He admits that TVJ's trust in Mr. T is total. The reason that, Tito says, EB! hosts never had to deal with Jalosjos throughout the past four decades is because Mr. T handled everything, smoothly and fairly. It is him they've worked with in the entire run of EB!.
"You know how close we are? We do not have a contract because of Tony. We are the only—what do you call this?—big stars on television that do not have a contract because of yung samahan namin nina Tony. Tapos iri-retire mo si Tony, di ba?"
The management language of the Jalosjos siblings may also be a bit different from Mr. T's. It is certainly off-putting to Tito.
Asked about EB!'s main hosts Tito, Vic, and Joey, CFO Bullet—who also is mayor of Dapitan City in Zamboanga del Norte—gives a response that offends Tito: "Ang dialogue pa ni Mayor Jalosjos, 'We're retaining them.' Retaining? Won't you be hurt? Ibig sabihin nun, puwede ka palang alisin, di ba?"
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