Senate to probe alleged
Wowowee scamBy Veronica
UyINQUIRER.netLast updated
06:25pm (Mla time)
08/30/2007MANILA, Philippines
-- Senator Manuel 'Mar' Roxas
II said on Thursday he is
filing a resolution on Friday
to investigate the alleged
cheating in one of the games
featured in the ABS-CBN
network's noontime show,
'Wowowee,
more

Senate to probe alleged
Wowowee scamBy Veronica
UyINQUIRER.netLast updated
06:25pm (Mla time)
08/30/2007MANILA, Philippines
-- Senator Manuel 'Mar' Roxas
II said on Thursday he is
filing a resolution on Friday
to investigate the alleged
cheating in one of the games
featured in the ABS-CBN
network's noontime show,
'Wowowee,' hosted by comedian
Willie Revillame.Roxas'
announcement was made a couple
of hours after comedian Joey
de Leon, who co-hosts the
noontime show Eat Bulaga on
ABS-CBN rival GMA, called on
the Senate to investigate what
he called the 'Hello, Papie'
incident during the
'Wilyonaryo' game portion of
Wowowee's August 29
episode.Papie is the nickname
Revillame is known by on the
show and Wilyonaryo is a new
game that replaced the old
Pera o Bayong segment.Clips of
the alleged cheating have been
circulating on the popular
video-sharing Web site
YouTube.In the clips, after
the wining contestant opted to
take a cash prize of P137,000
instead of risking a shot at
the P2-million jackpot and
other major prizes, Revillame
is seen taking a wheel in
which the jackpot was supposed
to be, only to draw a zero.He
then says it was a mistake,
reaches behind the wheel and
appears to draw out from the
same wheel the tag for the P2
million.Reports say ABS-CBN
has cleared Revillame,
attributing the incident to a
mechanical glitch, but the
controversy has continued to
rage and triggered an on-air
exchange between the hosts of
the rival shows.'We will look
into this [Wowowee
controversy] by first asking
the DTI [Department of Trade
and Industry] what are the
complaints, who are the
complainants, and what it has
done and intends to do about
this matter,' Roxas, who
chairs the Senate committee on
trade and commerce, told
reporters.'Based on this
information, we shall file an
appropriate resolution for a
Senate inquiry with the end
goal of strengthening the
Consumer Welfare Code,' he
added.Senator Ramon Revilla
Jr., who chairs the Senate
committee on public
information, said he supports
any investigation the chamber
will undertake into the
alleged Wowowee scam but
cautioned against prejudging
the show.'Huwag muna tayong
maghusga. Maghintay tayo kung
mayroong pormal na reklamo na
ihahain sa Department of Trade
and Industry, ang kaukulang
ahensyang nakakasakop sa
ganitong usapin [Let's not
make any judgments yet. Let's
wait until there's a formal
complaint before the
Department of Trade and
Industry, the appropriate
agency that covers this type
of issue],' Revilla said in a
statement.'Kaugnay nito,
malamang na hindi sa committee
on public information ito
babagsak. Gayunpaman,
susuportahan ko ang anumang
imbestigasyon ng Senado sa
nasabing isyu [In relation to
this, it might not fall under
the committee on public
information. In any case, I
will support whatever Senate
investigation on the said
issue]. If it will be referred
to my committee, I will
certainly act on it, but I do
not see any reason to initiate
such an action at this stage,'
he added.Senator Manuel Lapid,
who chairs the Senate
committee on games, amusement,
and sports, said his committee
will also investigate the
alleged game-rigging, but only
after the Movie and Television
Review and Classification
Board finishes its own probe
of the incident.Both Revilla
and Lapid are actors.During
Thursday's Eat Bulaga episode,
De Leon said: 'Para sa mga
taga Senado, iwan nyo na yang
Hello Garci at tingnan itong
Hello Papie [For those in the
Senate, leave Hello Garci and
look into Hello Papie].''Hello
Garci' is the controversy
involving the leaking of
purported wiretapped
conversations between
President Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo and former
election commissioner Virgilio
Garcillano that supposedly
prove that the administration
cheated during the 2004
elections.De Leon said the
probe is important because
some hosts allegedly rig their
contests in favor of some
contestants.'Ito'y para sa
ating lahat. Gusto namin
nagsasaya lalung-lalo na para
sa mga naghahanap ng swerte
[This is for all of us. We
just want to bring joy,
especially to those who are
seeking their fortune],' he
said.Copyright 2007
INQUIRER.net. All rights
reserved. This material may
not be published, broadcast,
rewritten or redistributed.

Category Comedy

Tags Joey, de, Leon, Wowowee, Scam, controversy, Willie, Revillame, ABS, CBN, TFC