45. EAT BULAGA’S MISS MILLENNIAL 2017

EAT BULAGA’S MISS MILLENNIAL 2017

Dr. Troy Alexander G. Miano

30 September 2017

Since I can remember, Eat Bulaga has been on air every 12 high noon. Every Filipino knows the phrase; “Mula Aparri hanggang Jolo. Saan ka man ay halina tayo. Isang libo at isang tuwa. Buong bansa… Eat Bulaga!...” and everybody knew the tune. I have seen Tito Sotto countless times when I was a legislative staff of former Senator Heherson T. Alvarez from 1996 to 1998 during the 10^th Congress and I was a member of the “Save the Filipino Youth Movement” which Sotto founded. However, I have not seen Tito, Vic and Joey altogether in person though I have not missed any movie of the trio ever since the time I had the money to spend for movie theatres. Today, I saw Tito, Vic and Joey live for the first time and I was in cloud nine.  

A letter from Television And Production Exponents, Inc. (TAPE) addressed to my boss, the Governor, was forwarded to my office with an instruction to comply. We were requested to submit the name of Isabela’s official representative to Eat Bulaga’s new segment entitled “Miss Millennial 2017”. Isabela sent Jeanevave B. Cabauatan, the reigning Miss Isabela 2017 who hails from Luna town.

The “Miss Millennial Philippines 2017” segment served as the biggest surprise for Eat Bulaga! on its 38^th anniversary. It showcased the beauty of the Philippines wherein 38 candidates took the viewers to a journey of their represented province. They showcased every attractions and foods as well. The candidates were judged not based on their vital statistics but on how well they promote the country and improve the people's perceptions about the Philippines. Eat Bulaga! encouraged the Miss Millennial candidates to use social media to reach more people in the promotion of their localities and the country in general.

Rose Garcia in her article “Tito, Vic & Joey recall their road to success” posted in www.pep.ph in 2008 and Dingdong Dantes’ “Kuwentong Dabarkads” in 2011 narrates: Production Specialists, Inc., a company owned by Romy Jalosjos, brought the idea of creating a noontime show for Radio Philippines Network (RPN). Antonio Tuviera, who was working for the company, thought that the comic troika of Tito Sotto, Vic Sotto and Joey de Leon, better known as TVJ, who had gained fame through GMA Network's Discorama and as pinch-hitters for Student Canteen, would be the perfect hosts for the new program. At a meeting at the Intercontinental Manila parking lot, Tuviera made the offer to them and they accepted.

De Leon coined the title of the show: “Eat” represents lunchtime while “Bulaga” which means "to surprise", represents their plan to fill the show with big surprises. The title is also a play on two children's games: “Eat” is the transliteration of “IT” from the game tag while “Bulaga!” refers to “Peekaboo!”.

Eat...Bulaga! premiered on July 30, 1979. TVJ, along with Chiqui Hollman and Richie Reyes (a.k.a. Richie d' Horsie) as the original hosts. During its first few months on the air, the show was in danger of cancellation. Not only did it face competition against the longest-running noontime show at that time, Student Canteen, it also lacked advertisers. In addition, TVJ did not receive their salaries for six months. Eat...Bulaga! slowly gained top-rating status in 1980 after the introduction of the segment "Mr. Macho." Production Specialists soon handed production to Tuviera's TAPE, Inc. In May 1982, the domestic satellite was launched, allowing Eat...Bulaga! and other RPN programs to be aired nationwide. During the same time, Coney Reyes joined the show while Hollman moved to Student Canteen. In 1987, Aiza Seguerra joined the show after finishing as a runner-up in the "Little Miss Philippines" segment.

Its easily recognizable theme song that begins with the famous phrase "Mula Aparri hanggang Jolo" was introduced on August 8, 1982, EB's 3^rd Anniversary. The lyrics of the song were written by Vincent Dy Buncio and Pancho Oppus, while the melody was composed by Vic Sotto and musical arrangement by Homer Flores. This famous theme song was revised many times and was used to different opening billboards of EB.

An interview with Joey de Leon revealed that he, Tito and Vic never signed any contract with Eat...Bulaga! when they were offered to become hosts of the show. Vic Sotto confessed that he accepted the offer and would immediately stop once he had enough money to buy a personal vehicle. Joey de Leon also admitted that the show was only supposed to be a short-term employment. However, Eat...Bulaga! defeated Student Canteen in the ratings after two years and TVJ decided to stay with the show. Up to this day, no contracts bind Tito Sotto, Vic Sotto, and Joey de Leon to the show or to TAPE, Inc. Friendship and their loyalty to the show are the only factors that keep them together.

In the year 1989, Eat...Bulaga! moved to ABS-CBN under a co-production agreement with other TAPE-produced shows Agila, Coney Reyes on Camera and Okay Ka, Fairy Ko! due to problems brought about by the sequestration of RPN. On February 18, 1989, the show premiered on its new home of the said network, which was staged at the Araneta Coliseum aside its celebration on its 10th anniversary on September 23, 1989.

By the 1990s, ABS-CBN wanted to buy the airing rights of Eat...Bulaga! from TAPE Inc. However, Tuviera and Malou Choa-Fagar rejected the deal, leading ABS-CBN to decide not to renew its contract with TAPE, Inc. and remove Eat...Bulaga! and its sister shows Valiente and Okay Ka, Fairy Ko from its roster with the exception of Coney Reyes on Camera and to reformat its Sunday show Sa Linggo nAPO Sila into a week-long show, 'Sang Linggo nAPO Sila.

Eat...Bulaga! moved to GMA. The show made its premiere telecast on its new home on January 28, 1995, again at the Araneta Coliseum, with a TV special Eat... Bulaga!: The Moving. Before this, month-long promotions (from December 1994 to January 1995) were made by coming up with the catchy advertisements, 9–2=7, Totoo ang Sie7e ("Nine minus two equals seven, Seven is really true"), alluding to the show's move from Channel 9 (RPN) to Channel 2 (ABS-CBN) to Channel 7 (GMA). It was also a homecoming for TVJ, who previously hosted Discorama and pinch-hit for Student Canteen on GMA before leaving the network for Eat...Bulaga!.

The popularity of Eat Bulaga! was at its zenith in July 2015 following the accidental formation of a new love team between co-hosts Alden Richards and Maine "Yaya Dub" Mendoza, and the eventual development of Kalyeserye, a parody soap opera built around the couple. The new loveteam, popularly known as AlDub, tripled the show's normal AGB Nielsen Mega Manila and nationwide television ratings and #AlDub became the top daily trending topic on Twitter in the Philippines and even worldwide.

The show is presently broadcasted from The New TAPE Studios (Eastside Studio) at the Broadway Centrum in New Manila, Quezon City and now holds the record of being the longest-running noontime variety program in the history of Philippine television. On July 16, 2012, Eat Bulaga! became the first Philippine television show to be franchised by another country.

Julia Gonowon of Camarines Sur was crowned Miss Mellinnial 2017 and awarded Php 500,000, a condo unit from Bria and a 2017 Mitsubishi Montero Sport. Dianne Irish Joy Lavayanga of Ilocos Norte was crowned Bayanihan Queen and received Php 100,00 and Php1 million for a project in her province. The other winners were: Carina Cariño of La Union (1^st Runner-up), Eleonora Valentina Laorenza of Aklan (2^nd Runner-up) and Shiara Joy Dizon of Malabon City (3^rd Runner-up). Isabela’s Jeanevave B. Cabauatan was not able to bring home the bacon on today’s grand coronation at the MOA Arena in Pasay City but the more important thing was she was able to showcase the beauty of the province in national television promoting Isabela as the next tourism destination in northern Philippines.