Daily TribuneVic Sotto recently bared that he has been paid P30 million in back pay by Eat Bulaga producers, although reports said the amount could have been much bigger than that.
"Basta bayad na. OK na," said Sotto during a presser for his new sitcom "24/7." "It's not a joke. Buti na lang na-media, nabayaran ako. 'Di ko naman inaasahan 'yun, pero thank you."
It was one of the issues raised by his brother, Tito Sotto, when he went public against the show's producer Television and Production Exponent.
Yet reading between the lines, the Eat Bulaga drama appears far from over.
"We started out with 'Bulaga' na halos walang sinusweldo," recalled Sotto who started the show with Tito and Joey de Leon in 1979. "Pero ok lang. Sabi ko nga, 'di naman pera-pera ang usapan—mas mahalaga ang prinsipyo sa pera."
For months now, everything hangs in the balance in the longest-running noontime show after a new generation of producers tried to repackage it to go with the times, so to speak.
That despite the fact that "Eat Bulaga" has helped shape local pop culture with its constantly evolving segments.
Aside from Vic, it was reported that TAPE also owed the same amount to De Leon.
Three days ago, De Leon created yet another stir when he asked Dabarkads to sing the opening theme of rival show "It's Showtime."
And when Jose Manalo, Wally Bayola, Gabbi Garcia, and Allan K obliged, the "Henyo Master" jokingly told them "Tanggal na kayo lahat."
De Leon has been engaging "It's Showtime" for some time, after he greeted Vice Ganda happy birthday on the air. Ganda, the "It's Showtime" frontman, acknowledged the gesture the next day on his show.
