‘Legit’Dabarkads: No one forced us to go with TVJ

One for all, all for one. This phrase has become popular, thanks to the Dabarkads. Now that the dust had settled, the group went on to clarify so much with yours truly.

First up is, former Sen. Tito Sotto said that a whopping 95 percent went with them — he, Vic Sotto and Joey de Leon — from the production people to the hosts as they formed TVJ Productions. For this week, the top story obviously is TVJ’s landmark partnership with MediaQuest, which has TV5 under its umbrella and will therefore be the new home of the legit — short for legitimate — Dabarkads.

Tito debunked the claim that only 21 percent of the staff went with them as claimed by TAPE, Inc. He said, “Ninety-five percent ng involved sa production sumama ah, wala pa yung sales, including the hosts. Anong 21 percent? We’re talking about production and hosts, not the whole of TAPE, Inc.”

We also caught up with Joey de Leon, who was beside Tito Sen when we were chatting with him before his meeting with the whole “legit” Dabarkads. After their meeting, we went on and talked to Wally Bayola, who was initially asked to stay put with TAPE, Inc.’s Eat Bulaga. Wally was emotional and somber when we chatted with him via Zoom to share his side.

“May lumabas nga na pinipilit kami to stay parang ma-overwhelm ka, pero hindi eh. Kung saan (ang) TVJ, andoon ako, at the same time, naramdaman ko na changes,” he shared. “Hindi ko na rin nakita si Mr. T (Tony Tuviera) sa studio. Parang tatay-tatayan namin iyon for more than 20 years. Wala na kami makasabay na boss na kumakain. Pamilya talaga kami.”

Maine Mendoza shortly hopped on the Zoom chat to reiterate that no one forced the legit Dabarkads to go with TVJ, contrary to earlier claims.

“Syempre, Ms. MJ in a heartbeat talaga ever since one for all, all for one na kami, so parang para sa amin, pointless kung wala ang TVJ, so kung saan sila, doon kami. They even didn’t talk to us. They didn’t force us at all, talagang lahat kami Dabarkads, decision namin iyon. We want to clear that out. Wala sa amin pinilit,” she said.

Ryzza Mae Dizon felt grateful to TVJ because the icons fought for her to stay on the show even though it was earlier reported that she was a choice of TAPE, Inc. to be let go.

“Six pa lang po, pamilya ko na sila. Maliit pa po ako, maliit pa naman ako, sila na nag-guide sa’kin. Grateful po ako na pinaglaban nila ako,” she shared.

`Meanwhile, Bida Next grand winner Carren Eisner, who is the newest member of the group, was the last one to resign. She also recalled her reasons for going with the Dabarkads.

“Baguhan pa lang po ako sa show and first day ko palang sa show, na-feel ko na agad yung warm welcome. I have my own dressing room, but I go to the others’ dressing rooms and everyone is free to go,” she shared.

There is no timeslot announcement yet from the side of TV5, but we spoke to president and CEO Guido Zaballero, and he told us that there are many changes in the lineup once the “legit Dabarkads” join the network officially.

He said, “The face of success, hahaha! Sobrang excited kami na we will have TVJ Dabarkads na bagong Kapatid natin. Kung anong shows, anong programs, we have yet to see them. Nasa planning stage pa lang because everyone is very positive about the development.”

“Throughout the year, you’ll see many changes, pero nasa planning stage pa lang kami and we’ll have many content partners,” he added.

Catch TVJ and the rest of the Dabarkads on TV5 either first week of July or earlier.