Willie's Millions and Minions

Each Time You Watch Wowowie, One Million Goes to Willie
Rain B





Remind me again that the Philippines is going through a recession and that every day, millions of people suffer of hunger. For the meantime, a noontime show host earns ONE fu...ng MILLION per day.

According to Yes’ Magazine, Andro’s best friend and Wowowie host Willie Revillame and Andro’s ninong Eugenio “Gabby” Lopez III, chairman and CEO of ABS-CBN are the most powerful entertainer and most powerful executive, respectively, in local show business. The showbiz magazines’ latest issue features "The 50 Most Powerful in Showbiz." The 48-year-old Revillame reigns No. 1 in the Entertainers category.

“As many people adore Willie as disapprove of him – but nobody can be indifferent to him,” the magazine said. That means Trixie, who hates Willie’s guts, actually contributes to his popularity.

Atty Trixie Angeles, you who can bring down city hall, and you who fought the Manila Mayor for the protection of Mehan Gardens (and won), can you do something about this cultural anomaly. Speak up Trix!


And Victorina, who is now writing another article about Willie, is helping him earn his millions, because apparently the advertisers don’t care whether the opinion about Willie is good or bad, if he is talked about, he is a good channel.

The multi-millionaire host who spends his money collecting cars and allegedly abusing women has kept “Eat Bulaga!,” the longest and popular noontime show in the country, on its toes. It seems "Wowowee" is the “persistent thorn in Eat Bulaga!’s side.” So Eat Bulaga and Joey de Leon are also culprits for making Willie to most powerful entertainer today.

Revillame’s builds on his “global” status among Filipino workers abroad. “What’s even more amazing is his audience’s continued adulation despite the negative issues that hound him to this day, foremost of which is the deadly 2006 stampede at the Ultra stadium that marked his show’s anniversary,” the magazine said.

In fairness, Revillame should make a good case study in audience and market research. But my bottomline is this: Revillame (and his bosses) made a good business out of other people’s misery. They build their millions out of the stories of misfortune and tears of the masses.

Willie has grown to such monumental stature that he thinks he is invincible now, no matter what we do, or say, his masses will support him, and heck, will die for him literally. I am two minutes away from calling my friends at ISAFP (Jojo, call me) for some bullet assistance. But that would make him, God forbid, a national hero!

So, we run out of options now and just accept the fact that Willie is the person who defines popular culture today?

Is there justice in this side of the universe?

(Aside: It is not the fault of the masses that they are in the dark, it is because the enlightened ones didn't care enough to share the light.)