Willie Revillame back to old form, still rules the masses

CEBU, Philippines - Love him or hate him, Philippine television’s most controversial game show host is still a certified crowd drawer. Willie Revillame had yet again been pelted with brickbats, lawsuits, threats of boycott, and faced another suspension this year alone, but those don’t seem to matter to the thousands of warm bodies who continue to troop wherever he goes hoping to be among the lucky many who will easily be handed cash, cell phones and other gift items by the man who claims to hold a soft spot for the poor children and elderly. And you don’t even have to be a contestant on one of his game segments. You just have to swallow your pride on national TV, stretch out your palm when the rags-to-riches star approaches and beg him for that crisp bill.

After getting called off twice, TV5's flagship primetime program Wil Time Bigtime finally mounted a successful live Cebu telecast last Saturday at the South Reclamation Area’s vast South Road Properties (SRP). TV5 representatives monitoring the event estimated the spectators who came to watch at a whopping 120,000 --- a far cry from the 60,000 that attended ASAP Rocks in the same venue and the 10,000 of Party Pilipinas at the Fuente Osmeña Circle, both held on the same day last April. To put it in perspective, the abovementioned Sunday noontime shows didn’t dangle any prizes, so we wouldn’t be too quick to declare Cebu as suddenly turning Kapatid country.

The show, which began at 5 pm until past 8 pm, was the grand culmination of TV5’s regional launch and expansion program in Cebu and the entire Visayas Region. To boost their presence here, the fast-rising network held week-long activities including mall shows at SM City Cebu graced by its talents, motorcades, Talentadong Pinoy auditions and a public service event at E-mall participated in by the personalities of TV5’s News and Public Affairs programs.

It began with an opening AVP featuring various shots of some of Cebu's famous landmarks and products, the editing of which was supervised by Willie himself. But Willie expressed his dismay on-air when home viewers apparently experienced a slight hitch and were unable to watch the opening video of Wil Time Bigtime in Cebu, since the channel suddenly paused on-screen. The 50-year old host, hinting of sabotage, said that they will have it investigated.

Willie was joined by his radiant co-host Shalani Soledad who wore her famous ex’s signature campaign color in her one-shoulder dress. Baby Bisaya, Sugar Mercado, Aimee Shweighart and the Bigtime Girls assisted in the game segments including “Red, White, Blue,” "Family Apir," "Roll It," and its banner segment "Wil Time Bigtime”; while celebrity guests Meg Imperial, Niña Jose, Wendy Valdez, Blakdyak and Andrew E. entertained the swelling crowd with their song and dance numbers.

As with most of his out-of-town shows, Willie was extra generous to Cebuanos that evening. He gave out cash and other freebies (usually his product endorsements) not only to winning contestants, but even to losing participants and audience members. A number of times, he descended the stage to mingle with fans.

Unfortunately, no one went home with the mega jackpot prize of P1M cash, a Foton van and a house and lot from Camella Homes. The biggest winner was a young Cebuana named Bebe who won a total of P115,000.

Fireworks capped the celebration at the SRP.

Formerly Willing-Willie, the primetime variety show went on hiatus last April after a series of ad pullouts when the program was criticized for a six-year old boy’s macho dancing routine. It was suspended by MTRCB in May 3. On May 14, the program returned as Wil Time Bigtime.  (FREEMAN)