As the longest-running noontime show, Eat Bulaga!, approaches its 44th anniversary on July 29, one of its original hosts, Joey de Leon, is teasing their celebration on their new home on TV5.
On July 29, Wednesday, de Leon tweeted about having a “National Dabarkads Day” to commemorate their 44th anniversary on television. He hinted at their upcoming festivities.
“It’s National Dabarkads Day on July 29! 14344!”
It’s National Dabarkads Day on July 29! 💙 14344!
— Joey de Leon (@AngPoetNyo) July 26, 2023
In a subsequent tweet, Joey shared a photo of himself, Tito, and Vic wearing shirts printed with “44,” standing behind a cake that also displayed “14344.”
He captioned it with, “You cannot complete and celebrate 44 years without the PAST! 14344 Dabarkads!” Joey captioned the post.” It appeared to be a veiled reference to TAPE Inc.’s Eat Bulaga!, possibly implying that they should refrain from holding their own celebration.
How will you celebrate 44 years if you don’t count and include the PAST? Ngek! 🤪 pic.twitter.com/bMa55X5PYu
— Joey de Leon (@AngPoetNyo) July 26, 2023
Recently, the revamped Eat Bulaga! faced criticism from netizens after Paolo Contis revealed that they were also planning a big event on July 29. While Contis didn’t provide specific details, he expressed concern that they might face backlash again.
Currently, TVJ (Tito, Vic, and Joey) and TAPE Inc. are engaged in a legal battle over the ownership of the title Eat Bulaga!. After parting ways with TAPE Inc. on May 31, TVJ claimed that they owned the rights to use the title as they invented it in 1979. On the other hand, TAPE Inc. asserted that they still hold the rights because they have the registration of the trade name Eat Bulaga! at the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines.
