Rochelle Pangilinan. Image: Screengrab from YouTube/Toni Gonzaga Studio
Rochelle Pangilinan said that the members of the now-defunct SexBomb Girls were hurt by their unceremonious removal from “Eat Bulaga,” saying the misunderstanding between their manager Joy Cancio, and the show’s executives led to their being axed from the show.
In a “Toni Talks” interview on Sunday, April 7, Pangilinan was asked by host Toni Gonzaga about what happened to the sudden disappearance of the SexBomb Girls from “Eat Bulaga,” in which she said there was no “closure” up to this time.
“Wala kaming closure. Bigla na lang kaming nawala, ang SexBomb. Pero sa ‘Eat Bulaga,’ may nangyari sa’min na nagkaroon ng di-pagkakaintindihan ang mga boss natin at si Ate Joy [Cancio]. Nagte-taping kami ng ‘Daisy Siete’ tas binabalita ang usapan. Tapos nagkababaan daw ng telepono,” she said.
(There was no closure. The SexBomb Girls were just removed. But from what I learned, there was a misunderstanding between the “Eat Bulaga” bosses and Ate Joy Cancio. We were taping “Daisy Siete” when we were informed. Then phones were supposedly slammed down.)
It was not immediately known which “bosses” she was referring to. At the time, the noontime show was being produced by TAPE Inc., under its producer Malou Choa-Fagar.
The actress-dancer also shared that she and the members of the all-female group initially wanted to show up in “Eat Bulaga” after their guesting at the now-defunct show “Sis” at the time. But they had to cut their appearance short when one of the SexBomb Girls was informed through a call that Cancio called her in tears.
“Meron kaming guesting pa bago mag-’Eat Bulaga,’ so nag-guest kami sa ‘Sis.’ Nag-usap kami na kung sino gusto mag-attend, and majority wins. Eh lahat kami nagtaas ng kamay. Pumunta kami, tas sinabihan ko sila magsara ng telepono kasi sure na magtatawag si Ate Joy,” recalled Pangilinan.
“T’as meron isang SexBomb member na nag-abot ng telepono, t’as nakausap ko si Ate Joy. Sabi ko, ‘Bakit?’ Umiiyak siya. So umalis kami ng Broadway. Pumunta kami sa kanya,” she continued referring to the noontime show’s old studio at the Broadway Centrum in New Manila, Quezon City.
(We had to appear first on “Sis” before “Eat Bulaga.” We then discussed who among us wanted to attend the noontime show, and we all raised our hands. So we went there, then I advised them to turn off their phones because Ate Joy call us. Then one SexBomb member handed me her phone where I talked to Ate Joy. I asked, “Why?” She’s crying. So we left Broadway. We went to her.)
Pangilinan was then asked how she felt when the EB Babes were introduced to the public. She admitted that the members felt insecure at the time, although she clarified that it had something to do with the group’s competitive nature.
“Noong hindi na kami pumasok sa ‘Eat Bulaga,’ nagpa-audition sila ng dancers. Nagpa-contest sila, t’as siyempre, magaganda at bata. Masakit ‘yun sa’min. Parang pinalitan niyo kami, gan’un ang feeling namin n’un kasi lahat ng SexBomb, competitive,” she said.
(When we didn’t show up at ‘Eat Bulaga,’ they held an audition for a new group of dancers. They held a contest. Then of course, they were pretty and young. It hurt for us. We felt replaced. That’s what we felt because the members of SexBomb have competitive personalities.)
SexBomb Girls is one, if not, the biggest all-female group in the Philippines from the late 1990s to 2010s. Many of its songs became hits such as “The Spageti Song,” “Halukay Ube,” and “Bakit Papa?”
Aside from Pangilinan, some of its more popular members include Jopay Paguia-Zamora, Che-Che Tolentino, Mia Pangyarihan, Izzy Trazona, and Sugar Mercado.