(Updated Feb. 7, 2023; 9:37 a.m.) An old interview where Willie Revillame mentioned his previous network ABS-CBN was brought up on social media following his viral appeal to “set aside politics” in supporting another television network.
Willie on February 4 urged viewers to support the shows of ALLTV, a new television network that was launched last September. It is also his current home network.
This appeal came after it was rumored that some of its shows will temporarily stop airing.
After learning about this, in an episode of his variety game show “Wowowin,” Willie called out the public who are happy about the end of some TV programs.
“Hindi ko lang ito kinukwento pero may mga lumalabas kasi ngayon na mga programa sa ALLTV mawawala. Eh, parang natutuwa pa kayo na mawawala ang programang nagbibigay saya at tumutulong. Sana hindi ganon ‘di ba?” the veteran host said.
“Ako naman willing naman tumulong. Di ba, sa sobrang blessed namin. ‘Wag naman sanang ganon,” he added.
Willie also asked them for prayers.
He then ended his speech with a cryptic remark concerning the “frequency” of the channel. He also asked the public to “set aside politics.”
“Set aside ninyo ‘yung pulitika. Marami pa kayong dapat malaman sa katotohanan. It’s about the frequency, kung alam niyo lang ‘yung totoo. Ayoko lang ho magsalita na pangungunahan ko sila,” Willie said.
READ: ‘Nagsisimula pa lang kami’: Willie Revillame breaks silence on ALLTV issue
ALLTV is owned by the All Media Broadcasting System (AMBS), owned by business tycoon Manny Villar.
The fledgling broadcast entity was granted a legislative franchise to operate by the National Telecommunications Commission in January 2022.
Old interview
Willie earned the ire of several Filipinos online because of his speech concerning ALLTV.
Some of them brought up a video that showed his reaction to a joke about ABS-CBN’s shutdown in May 2020 after its franchise expired.
The broadcast firm was denied renewal of its license in July of the same year.
RELATED: Who’s who: A rundown of votes during ABS-CBN franchise renewal final hearing
The video showed an episode of “Wowowin” that former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque guested. The popular game show was also still under GMA Network at that time.
Entertainment blogger Rod Magaru posted a TikTok video that juxtaposed this interview with Willie’s recent appeal on TV. Magaru also reminded him that “everything is political.”
I dont wish for your misfortune Willie. I’ll just remember the way you laugh when 11,000 employees lost their dreams and jobs are the ones getting back to you. And everything is political. Everything. pic.twitter.com/H3kozD9IDf
— Rod Magaru (@rodmagaru) February 5, 2023
The interview was supposed to talk about what the future holds for the country amid the skyrocketing cases of COVID-19.
Before they started this discussion, however, Roque teased Willie that the latter will supposedly have more views following ABS-CBN’s closure.
“Sa kauna-unahang pagkakataon, ikaw lang ang napapanood sa buong bands. Alam mo, duda ko, kaya ‘yung isa nawalan ng prangkisa, ikaw may kagagawan niyan e. Oh, aminin, aminin,” the former senatorial aspirant said.
Willie initially laughed at Roque’s quip.
The television personality later pointed out to his guest that ABS-CBN jumpstarted his career.
He then told Roque that he will not talk about the legislative franchise anymore throughout the segment.
READ: Why Harry Roque’s joke on ABS-CBN shutdown in ‘Wowowin’ guesting was deemed problematic
Criticisms vs Willie
Several personalities appeared to have alluded to Willie’s reaction about ABS-CBN closure before without naming names.
“Wag umiyak. Kung nung araw na kailangan ang luha ng pagdamay mo ay hindi rin naman naramdaman. Bagkus nakitawa ka pa. Kaya wag mamalimos ng simpatya. Kaya mo yan. Wala kang di kinaya,” Ogie Diaz said.
“Your power to persuade people through gaslighting your whole life has run out. What goes around will always come back around. Filipinos are waking up, you should too,” Gabriel Valenciano tweeted.
Other social media users also disagreed with Willie’s remark on setting aside politics.
“Sorry, Kuya Will. But the damage done by politics to ABS-CBN and its 11,000 employees will never be forgotten,” a Facebook user said.
“Because of politics, ABS-CBN lost its franchise. And a lot of people lost their jobs. You can’t tell people to set aside politics. If you want to help people, there are other ways to do it,” a Twitter user said.
ALLTV’s legal franchise was previously assigned to ABS-CBN for 25 years.
ALLTV programs
In a report by PEP.ph, the ALLTV management talked to their talents about their plans to cease airing some of the programs in the meantime.
PEP.ph did not specify what these shows are.
The following are the programs that aired during the soft launch of the network on Sep. 13, 2022:
- “Toni” – Toni Gonzaga’s talk show
- “Mhies On a Mission” – a morning talk show by Mariel Rodriguez, Ruffa Gutierrez and Ciara Sotto
- “Wowowin” – the variety game show of Willie
According to the report, the actors and actresses affected will also still receive their respective talent fees as stated in their contracts.
