Joey de Leon jokes about “Eat Bulaga” being the “longest-running” show | Image: Instagram/@eatbulaga1979
Joey de Leon’s way of celebrating the 14,000 days of “Eat Bulaga” is by joking about how they have been the “longest-running” noontime show in the country.
The actor-host took to X (formerly Twitter) on Friday, March 22, to share a picture of himself wearing an “Eat Bulaga” T-shirt and joke that they have been transferring from one station to another all these years.
“Whoa! Eat Bulaga is about 14,000 days old today! We have been “running” from one station to another since 1979! Kaya ba we are the longest running? Ngek!” he wrote.
Since its first airing in 1979 on Radio Philippines Network (RPN-9), it has been hosted by the iconic trio of Tito Sotto, Vic Sotto, and de Leon (TVJ). Over the years, the variety show has had multiple network transfers.
Due to the sequestration of RPN because of the People Power Revolution, “Eat Bulaga” transferred to ABS-CBN in 1989. The variety show celebrated its 10th anniversary in the Ignacia-based network.
After its six-year stay with ABS, “Eat Bulaga” moved to GMA Network from 1995 to 2023. Given the highly publicized conflict between TVJ and Jalosjos-led TAPE Inc., the noontime show left the Kamuning-based network after almost 30 years and transferred to TV5, where it is currently airing.
Meanwhile, ABS-CBN’s “It’s Showtime” recently took over the noontime slot of GMA and will start airing on the network on April 6 after their historic recent contract signing.
Despite the tight rivalry of the two noontime shows, “It’s Showtime” mainstay host Anne Curtis said they would always “look up” to “Eat Bulaga.”
”You know, we will always look up to ‘Eat Bulaga.’ They are the longest-running (noontime show) in the Philippines, and I mean what a journey they have been throughout the years. We will always idolize them because they have set a benchmark for noontime variety shows,” she said in 2023.
