Vic Sotto. Image: Instagram/@eatbulaga1979
Vic Sotto stressed he has opted not to address the “Eat Bulaga” issue because his brother Tito had already made a tell-all, but he clarified that production company TAPE owes him a lot more than P30 million.
Vic initially refused to talk about the controversy after he was asked by TV5 reporter MJ Marfori about the possible next steps for the noontime variety show, during a media conference for a home appliances brand.
“Nasabi na lahat ni Tito Sen. Lahat ng katotohanan nailahad na niya. Wala na akong maidadagdag pa do’n,” he answered. “Basta isa lang ang masasabi ko, ‘Eat Bulaga’ is here to stay.”
(Tito Sen already said everything. He revealed the whole truth. I have nothing to add to that. I will only say one thing, “Eat Bulaga” is here to stay.)
Marfori then mentioned the supposed P30 million TAPE owes Vic and Joey de Leon, to which Vic revealed, “Kulang pa nga ‘yon e. Na-wrong info pa nga si Tito Sen do’n.” (That was less than [the real amount]. Tito Sen gave the wrong information.)
“Sa tagal naman na e. Sa haba nung delay kaya umabot ng gano’n. Pero sabi ni Joey, wala ‘yon. Gano’n namin kamahal ang Eat Bulaga e,” he continued. (It was long overdue. It was delayed for too long that’s why it ballooned to that amount. But Joey said he doesn’t mind. That’s how much we love “Eat Bulaga.”)
After the media conference, Vic was once again asked by the members of the press about TAPE’s debt to him and the TV host reportedly said he does not mind if the production company would not pay him.
“Kung mababayaran ako, well and good. Kung hindi naman kayang bayaran, OK lang,” Vic was quoted as saying. “Hindi lahat ng bagay nadadaan sa pera. Sa akin, mas importante ang prinsipyo kesa sa materyal na bagay.”
(If they would pay, then well and good. But if they cannot, it’s OK with me. Not everything can be settled with money. For me, principle is more important than material things.)
Speculations that Jalosjos family, which owns TAPE that handles “Eat Bulaga,” is seeking to take over the show have been circulating for months, before Bullet Jalosjos, the chief finance officer of the production company, and Tito addressed the issue in separate interviews. However, contrasting statements emerged from their tell-alls.
One of the supposed false statements given by Bullet was that the production company does not owe anything to Vic and Joey, with Tito claiming that TAPE owes Vic and Joey P30 million each for 2022 alone. EDV