MANILA, Philippines – Getting kicked out of a home and then finding someone who offered to take you in. 

This was the common theme of the country’s top comedians – Joey de Leon, Vic Sotto, Vice Ganda – following the events on Tuesday, June 20, on the transfer of ABS-CBN’s It’s Showtime from TV5 to GMA’s GTV channel, and the contract signing formalizing the transfer of Tito, Vic, and Joey (TVJ) to the Kapatid network, TV5.

In a press conference on Tuesday, De Leon used an analogy that is close to the heart of Filipinos: the Christian story of Joseph and Mary in Bethlehem but finding no place to stay in. 

“Ang feeling namin, kami si Saint Joseph, si Mama Mary na naghahanap ng bahay…[at] may nagbigay ng tahanan. Thank you,” said the comedian, shedding tears, to TV5 executives. (We feel like we’re St. Joseph and Mama Mary who are looking for a home…and someone gave us one. Thank you.)

De Leon has described himself to be religious, and has occasionally posted images of Mama Mary on his Instagram account. He and his wife often visit Catholic churches when they travel abroad.

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A post shared by Joey de Leon (@angpoetnyo)

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A post shared by Joey de Leon (@angpoetnyo)

Spain ruled the Philippines for over three centuries and introduced Christianity to the natives. Today, around 78% of the Philippines’ population are Roman Catholics.

Comedian Vic Sotto echoed the message, telling TV5 executives, “Kumatok kami, pinagbuksan n’yo kami ng pintuan at agad-agad, ramdam namin ang pagmamahal, pagmamahal ng isang kapatid.” (We knocked, you opened your door and immediately, we felt your love, the love of a sibling.) 

Businessman Manny V. Pangilinan, chairman of MediaQuest Holdings Incorporated, spoke on the same theme as he welcomed his new content partners, TVJ Productions Incorporated.

“We felt obligated, it was part of our duty, if they’re looking for a home, and for such an iconic entertainment phenomenon as somebody said earlier, it deserves a home, and it’s our obligation to provide them a home,” he said. 

The sports patron also used his support for the Gilas Pilipinas national basketball team to explain his decision to take in the showbiz trio after they left the production company, Television and Exponents Productions Incorporated (TAPE), on May 31 following a bitter falling out with its majority owner, the Jalosjos family.

“Maybe the best analogy I could provide you is that, when we got involved in the national team, we received comments from our colleagues in the basketball industry, na bakit nyo…ang laki ng gastos nyo sa pagsuporta nyo sa Gilas and yet alam nyo naman maliit ang Pinoy, ‘di tayo mananalo, we will never become world champions, at least not in our lifetime.

“And my answer was very simple. Mahal ng Pilipino ang basketball, pwede ba namin talikuran ang mahal ng mga Pinoy?”

Pangilinan also defended MediaQuest’s “business decision” to give the noon time slot to TVJ, while offering It’s Showtime the 4:30 pm time slot which ABS-CBN declined.

“Hindi kami nagkulang sa pagtulong sa ABS[-CBN]. We are proud of what we have done, and we continue to have arrangements with them in terms of content. We have not forsaken our duty to them. After what was done to them (ABS-CBN), we felt we had to provide them a platform, the delivery system Filipinos love,” he said, referring to how TV5 now airs Kapamilya shows after the Lopez-led company lost its frequency and franchise in 2020.

Vice Ganda gave the same message as Sotto and De Leon hours after news broke that GMA’s free tv channel, GTV, would be the new home of ABS-CBN’s noon variety show, It’s Showtime, starting July 1, after the show’s contract with on TV5 ends on June 30.

“Noong binalita sa amin, syempre, emotional kaming lahat, kasi nasa kalagitnaan kami ng lungkot, ‘di ba yung, nawalan ka ng tirahan, tapos biglang may kukupkop na naman sa’yo. We feel so special and we feel so grateful to GTV,” Vice Ganda told reporters on Tuesday hours after the news broke.

Although far from being homeless themselves, the celebrities’ common message, however, resonates in a country where millions have no security of abode, where many farmers are landless, and poor families in both rural and urban areas have no decent homes. 

Millions also lose their homes yearly to disasters such as typhoons, and thousands are forced to flee their houses due to armed conflict.

Cross-country surveys on religion have shown that Filipinos are “one of the most religious of peoples on the planet,” said Mahar Mangahas, chair emeritus of polling outfit, Social Weather Stations. – Rappler.com