“Eat Bulaga” host Jose Manalo suppressed his tears upon hearing the news about the death of a friend who once helped him when he was penniless.
During the show’s segment “Juan For All, All For Juan” segment aired on Saturday, Manalo had a lively conversation with Sugod Bahay winner Mary Jean Gabales, who happened to be friends with Rodel de Guzman, whom Manalo knew.
At first, Manalo failed to recognize his friend when she said that De Guzman passed away. “Rodel de Guzman? ‘Yung taga-Ricafort [street]? ‘Di ko nabalitaan, nakikiramay ako,” (Rodel de Guzman from Ricafort street? I was not informed. Condolences.) he said, recalling that he was his childhood friend in the slums of Tondo, Manila.
Finally realizing that De Guzman was his longtime friend, he confirmed,”Patay na si Rodel (Is Rodel dead already?)” to which Gabales replied, “Opo, noong nakaraang taon pa (Yes, last year).”
Manalo broke down and teared up, but later managed to control his emotion.
“Napakabait niyan (De Guzman)…Nanay ni Rodel, dadalaw po ako sa inyo. Sorry po, hindi ko nabalitaan. Dadalaw po ako para dadalaw tayo sa puntod niya,” Manalo vowed. (He is a very kind man. Rodel’s mom, I will visit you. Sorry, I did not know what happened until now. We will visit his grave together.) He also offered to pay for his pal’s debt but found out it had already been paid.
The episode uploaded on GMA’s YouTube account became the most trending video on the site, with at least 1.2 million views on Monday. Gianna Francesca Catolico