Eat Bulaga Is More Than Just A Comedy Show

Eat Bulaga! is the longest-running show on Philippine television to date. Throughout the years, we’ve seen some of its hosts, so as their rivals come and go, but Tito, Vic, and Joey have remained intact. In a span of 4 decades (it has premiered in 1979), how did it manage to stay relevant?

Many fans have become so loyal and at some point, you may think that they have started a cult. It has become a huge part of our pop culture. Generations have passed and even in the era of social media where attention span has diminished, it is still well-supported.

Just yesterday, they have an intriguing episode Bawal Ang Judgmental wherein a famed journalist Susan Enriquez, has to choose who among the contestants is a person living with HIV. It was shocking to a point and the noise has died down in the studio. The goal of the show was not to embarrass but to educate and to help stop the stigma.

This action is commendable as confronting both fears of contagion and negative social judgments are important more than ever. In the past few years, we have seen a rise in the number of people living with HIV/AIDS wherein the country has one of the fastest-growing HIV epidemics in the world according to the Department of Health.

The episode has drawn a lot of support where it has trended in social media and gained praise from its viewers. This must be their secret to being relevant because they are empowering these people by increasing awareness to reduce stigma and discrimination. They are fighting an uphill battle and these actions can be encouraging to them.

Eat Bulaga! is a huge platform with millions of Filipino viewers. Yes, this is a noontime variety show where you don’t have a choice but to laugh at its hilarious jokes. But this suggests another thing, that they are way more than a comedy show.

Photo appeared as Featured Image from Manila Bulletin