The Netizen who stood by those who campaigned for ‘Yes to ABS-CBN shutdown’ bandwagon finally got the chance to meet Vice Ganda.
During today’s episode, February 23, Kaloy Villaver took the stage of It’s Showtime‘s Tawag ng Tanghalan to compete. He was among those who were in favor of shutting down the Network.
He was exposed by Web sleuths when he announced on Facebook, that he will be joining Kapamilya’s singing competition in the noontime show.
Despite being ridiculed and criticized, he still pursued joining the competition. When it’s time to meet the popular TV host, Villaver got confronted by Vice Ganda.
Vice asked Villaver how he handled the criticism after he was discovered to be in favor of Network’s shutdown.
“Paano mo hinandle yung binabash ka?” the comedian inquired.
Villaver replied, “Actually Ms. Vice, medyo ready na rin po ako for that thing. Kasi I was very vocal about my political stand before nung nasa abroad ako.”
With the knowledge that the person standing before her is against the Network, Vice Ganda delved deeper into knowing why Villaver did it.
“Ano ba yung pinost mo about the ABS-CBN issue?” Vice Ganda continued.
Villaver said that he forgot the post. But because of the Netizens reposting what he said, he remembered what he did.
“Actually I forgot already kasi medyo matagal na yun. Hindi ko po dinedeny. And I’m actually very thankful na binigyan ako ng chance to share my talent and have my story to be heard,” the contestant said.
And now that he’s in ABS-CBN competing, the host asked how he felt knowing that many people were bashing him.
“Ano yung feeling mo ngayon na nandito ka ngayon sa entablado ng studio ng Network na minsan mo pinalangin na maipasara?” Vice asked further.
Villaver admitted that he was ashamed of what he did. Upon returning to the Philippines, he realized that he was entirely wrong to attack the TV station. That is why he was embarrassed knowing that he was in favor of its shutdown.
“Nahihiya po ako actually. I gotta be honest. Sobrang hiya po ako sa ginawa ko. Because I was barking at the wrong tree that time. When I came home in the Philippines, marami din akong doubts kaya ayoko na ring magsalita sa mga bagay-bagay kasi ayokong lalong mapahiya yung sarili ko,” Villaver admitted.
Despite what he did, Vice Ganda wanted to understand the reason why he did it. The host stressed that everyone, including those in the studio, could get mad at him.
“Syempre di ba maraming nagagalit, maraming pwedeng magalit. Actually kami rito pwede kaming magalit sa’yo. Pero ako personally at this point, I want to understand. Kasi syempre, kung magagalit sila sa’yo, hindi mo yun maiaalis sa kanila di ba?” she said.
Villaver admitted that ABS-CBN and its supporters have the right to get mad at him.
“They always have the right,” he said.
Amid the hate Villaver is receiving, Vice Ganda wanted to understand him.
“So ako, I want to understand. Gusto ko malaman, bakit mo nasabi yun? Ano yung tumatakbo sa isip mo bakit winish mo na sana magsara ang ABS-CBN?”
Apparently, the contestant was influenced by vloggers and pages that spread misinformation. But he forgot to validate what he heard and read from them. That is why when he joined the competition, he was ashamed of what he did.
“Nagiging influenced na rin din po ako ng mga vlogs, ng mga pages na I was not able to validate if fact ba yung binabasa ko. Kaya nga po I kept quiet kasi nahihiya na rin po ako,” Villaver confessed.
“Nahihiya ako na mali yung sinasabi ko.”
According to him, upon coming home to the Philippines, that is when Villaver realized that he was wrong all this time. He admitted his mistake of judging too quickly. He chose to keep quiet despite the stream of criticisms.
“Marami po eh. Maraming nababasa sa news na I thought it’s fake. Or all the while I thought it’s fake, all the while it’s just the media made it up. But I validated na totoo pala. And marami po, marami po. And that’s why siguro I kept quiet. Ayoko lalong ipahiya ang sarili ko,” he said.
Having the chance to explain his side, he also took the opportunity to apologize to everyone he offended.
“From the bottom of my heart, I would like to say sorry to everybody. That’s why I’m here.”
He even shared that he had thoughts of backing out from the competition because of how embarrassed he was. And with his secret now out of the bag, his family and his wife were dragged into the issue. That is why he deactivated his Facebook account to stop the attacks.
“Pwede naman po ako mag-back out. Gusto ko na ngang mag-back out that time that I saw the post, gusto ko na talagang mag-back out dahil hiyang-hiya ako. Dahil yung pamilya ko, yung asawa ko, nada-drag na rin sa issue. Kasi I’m being tactless, and I’m being very careless about what I post, what I say. Kaya I took down my account, I deactivated my account because I don’t want to drag anybody with my carelessness.”
So Vice asked him if he is apologizing to the Network whom he wished ill.
Villaver responded, “Yes. If I will be given this chance to apologize to everybody. Syempre ito [referring to Kim Chiu] kababayan ko ito. And everybody here who gave me a chance na marinig yung story ko. My story of change, my story of hope, I would like to thank and apologize to everybody. On behalf of the people who did the same thing. And I would like to apologize to you guys.”
The TV host also revealed that someone died because of the TV station’s shutdown, which was not known to the public.
“Alam niyo ba na bukod sa maraming nawalan ng trabaho, meron ding nawalan ng buhay dahil sa issue na ‘to. May namatay kami na kapamilya, na ka-trabaho dahil hindi kinaya yung balita na magsasara ang ABS at mawawalan siya ng trabaho na bubuhay sa pamilya niya,” Vice revealed.
Nevertheless, Vice Ganda forgave Villaver. She also stressed that ABS-CBN would always have its door opened to everyone, even those who despise them, and a chance to realize that the Network is there in the service of the Filipino people.
“Everybody deserves a chance. Just like you and just like ABS-CBN. Everybody needs a chance. Everybody is deserving of all the chances. Binibigyan ka namin ng chance, binibigyan namin kayo lahat ng chance na ma-realize niyo na ang ABS-CBN ay dapat niyo ring bigyan ng chance na makapagbigay pa ng serbisyo pa sa inyo. Dahil yun lang naman ang purpose natin di ba? Tsaka this is part of our journey to healing. Everybody needs to heal,” said Vice Ganda.
“Kaya I took down my account. Kasi ayoko na magsalita. Hindi matatapos if sasagot ako eh. It’s a never-ending discussion eh,” said Villaver.
