Kapamilya, Deal or No Deal invades barangays

MANILA, Philippines – Since the fifth season of the game show, Kapamilya, Deal or No Deal, started firing up the late-afternoon slot of ABS-CBN in February last year, the program continues to bring luck, fun and entertainment not just to its celebrity contestants but to its audience as well.

This time around, Kapamilya, Deal or No Deal invaded the barangays to spread good fortune to a bigger, wider audience. Leaving the comfortable confines of its air-conditioned studio, Barangay Edition was made more interesting as it recently started airing from different barangays in the country.

Host Luis Manzano and his 20 Lucky Stars, who are all celebrities, are joined by 20 lucky residents of the featured barangay to help “guard” the briefcases containing face amounts of money, from P1 to P1M. Even the female banker whose face is never seen in front of the TV cameras, has her own, safe nook outside the studio.

The barangay residents who join the Lucky Stars immediately get P5,000. The briefcases, which contain yellow stars, mean an additional P5,000 to the barangay residents. From the said batch, the guest celebrity will choose one barangay resident who will play, with the chance to win the jackpot.

While some celebrity players in the studio allot their prize for their chosen charities, the players in the barangay are all too excited to win whatever cash prize they can take home for their loved ones.

A female barangay tanod chosen by Joey Marquez to play, recently took home more than P400,000. She is a single mom to three children and she also takes care of her mom who is sick of osteoporosis. The barangay tanod was emotional when she won the money, which she will use for her mom’s medical treatment, as well as for the needs of her three children.

Reaching out to the barangay residents is a commendable move for Kapamilya, Deal or No Deal. Airing outside the studio and from a remote site, bringing all the production equipment outside, is double the effort for the Lucky Stars, program host and the entire production staff and crew of the program.

Of course, they considered the security of everybody, especially the stars, prior to the airing. Steel barriers are even mounted in the audience area, but everyone apparently welcomed the chance to reach out to residents of the barangays and bring cheer, even only for only a short time.

The presence of the 20 Lucky Stars to carry the briefcases has been a daily come-on for the program. From showbiz royalties to beauty queens to comedians, veteran actors and even up-and-coming stars, the Lucky Stars add celebrity value to the show.

All the Lucky Stars have been given the chance to play and win the jackpot. They were also featured with Luis in the Christmas station ID of the network, as they brought cheers to residents of a seaside town.

To date, Bearwin Meily and Ara Mina, who both became Lucky Stars and also played, won P1M each. Best friends Kaye Abad and Nikki Valdez who played together, also took home P1M.

The regular celebrity players of Kapamilya, Deal or No Deal include Arlene and Niño Muhlach, Epi Quizon, Sylvia Sanchez, Ian Batherson, Dennis Padilla, Long Mejia, Eric Nicolas, Atak, Gary Lim, Negi, Hyubs Azarcon, Daiana Meneses, Nadia Montenegro, Karen Reyes, Matt Evans and beauty queens Mutya Datul, Mary Jane Lastimosa, Ariella Arida and Bea Rose Santiago.