GMA suspends S-Files host Joey

If you miss Joey Marquez on S-Files on two episodes after this Sunday, Aug. 22, it’s because GMA has slapped him with a two-episode suspension for using "vulgar words" during the airing of the show on Aug. 1 and 8.

Only last week, another GMA host, Joey de Leon was suspended (for two months) as host of Eat, Bulaga! also for a similar offense.

According to a "special agent" in a report to MTRCB chairman Ma. Consoliza Laguardia, the Aug. 1st episode of S-Files discussed "semi-virginity," with starlet Kat de Santos among the guests. When asked about it, Kat answered in the vernacular, using not-so-pleasant words, describing how she failed to lose her innocence because she and her partner were rudely interrupted by her aunt who entered the room.

Also discussed on the same episode was "penile enlargement" during which, according to the special agent’s report, Joey made comments using "vulgar words," some in double-meaning statements such as "...mula ng maging tarat hanggang maging parang monkey-eating eagle..."

On the Aug. 8 episode, during an interview with Mahal and her alleged Fil-Am boyfriend, Joey reportedly asked Mahal, "Malaki ba...? Kasya kaya?"

MTRCB called the attention of GMA for violating the show’s PG (Parental Guidance) rating.

In a letter to Laguardia, dated Aug. 17, GMA program manager Redgie Magno informed the MTRCB that GMA has decided to suspend Joey for two episodes.

Here’s the GMA letter, in full:

Dear Chairperson Laguardia,

In connection with our meeting on Aug. 16, 2004, concerning the episode of S-Files shown on Aug. 8, 2004, please be informed that the station undertakes to do the following:

a. It will suspend the program’s host, Joey Marquez, for two episodes (Aug. 29 and Sept. 5). In the episode of Aug. 22, Mr. Marquez will make a statement as to the reason for his suspension.

b. S-Files shall avoid discussion, other than clinical, or unless treated with utmost good taste, on sex and matters related to it.

We are undertaking the above actions as a way of showing the Board and the public that GMA Network constantly carries out the necessary measures to help maintain the high guality of its programs.

Very truly yours,

- REDGIE A. MAGNO

Program Manager

Again, what else can we say but, ho-hum, they never learn, do they?

Hitmakers Also A Hit In The US

I watched the Hitmakers show of Rico J. Puno, Hajji Alejandro, Nonoy Zuñiga, Rey Valera and Marco Sison at a full-packed Araneta Coliseum last year and the audience, composed of the above-35 and the below-35, had fun traipsing down Memory Lane with the enduring hits of the five hitmakers who spiced up the show with – what else? – Rico J’s standard green jokes, poking fun at each other and impersonations of other singers (including the F4 which was popular at that time – but where are they now?).

The show was so good, such a smash hit, that there were a few repeats both at the Big Dome and in other venues (in Pampanga and Cebu). That’s why I wasn’t at all surprised to hear the good news that the hitmakers were also a hit on their recent US concert tour in Orlando (Florida), New Jersey, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York.

"In Orlando," said Rico, "not more than 900 would usually show up at the venue where we performed. But during our show, the number exceeded the venue’s 1,400 capacity."

"The mostly-Filipino audience was ‘game’," said Marco. "Sometimes, before we could finish a song, nakikipag-sing-along na sila sa amin."

As usual and as expected, among the popular numbers were the guys’ old songs, such as Rico’s Kapalaran and The Way We Were, Hajji’s Tag-araw and Balatkayo, Marco’s My Love Will See You Through and Si Aida o Si Lorna o Si Fe, Nonoy’s I’ll Never Say Goodbye, and Rey’s Maging Sino Ka Man.

The guys attribute the success of their show to the mix of music and humor.

"Even Rey, who’s usually shy and serious, became a comedian," said Rico.

Before the US tour, the hitmakers also did SRO shows in Vancouver, Reno and L.A., after a stint in Melbourne and Sydney.

Each of them, according to Rico, has his own "character." Marco is the "bedroom idol," Nonoy is the "desenteng naughty," Rico is the "green joker," Rey is the "probinsyanong arbiter" and Hajji is the guy "na laging hinihiwalayan ng asawa dahil sex lang ang gusto niya."

Here and there, they performed before mixed audiences composed of parents and their children who have learned to enjoy their elders’ kind of music.

Isn’t there any professional jealousy among them?

They’re much too old and too professionals for that pettiness.

Here’s how a Hitmakers show usually runs:

The show started with a medley of OPMs. The Great Hitmakers, now known in the US as GH5, came out wearing different colored jackets over their white shirts, and the inevitable exchange of wordplay, each at the expense of the other–a foreboding of more gut-wrenching laughter throughout the show.

Marco, who has his own share of chart topping romantic songs like My Love Will See You Through, was left alone onstage for his share of three solos. For his own three-song portion, Nonoy, whose famous song Never Ever Say Goodbye is popular during weddings, gave a more subdued but equally impressive performance.

Rey, more popularly known as a gifted composer of hits like Pangako Sa Iyo and Maging Sino Ka Man, gave a heart-rending performance when he sang his original and yet unrecorded Sa Aking Panahon. The song talks about corruption, kidnapping, and poverty and hoping that if some of our leaders can put God instead of money in their hearts there may be hope. After a stunned silence, came tumultuous applause and standing ovation.

Hajji changed the mood of the night during his solo portion when he gyrated and danced all over the stage while singing popular ’60s dance music. The audience hooted with laughter when he bent over clutching his hip after his three-song dance medley.

The last to perform, Rico J.’s mix of his popular OPMs, contemporary US hits and famous Tagalog soap opera theme songs, and his green jokes was worth the wait for audience. Many could be seen doubled over and others stomping their feet and howling with laughter. He is the only one so far who can simulate humping on stage and turn it into an art form.