In the 17 years that Vhong Navarro has been in showbiz, he said that providing for his kids and buying a house for his parents are some of his greatest achievements. The comedian-host revealed that he presently owns three houses. “Meron po akong mga bahay. Tatlo po ang bahay ko na naipundar, mga townhouses. Nabigyan ko po ng bahay ang magulang ko dito sa Quezon City. ‘Yung isa po halos binebenta ko na, kung gusto n’yong bilhin sabihin n’yo lang sa akin,” Vhong joked with the press at the launch of I.Star Best of Dance/Novelty CD, where he sang some of the popular tracks included in the album.
Vhong co-hosts the country’s most popular morning talent-search show, Showtime, which is even being pitted against noon-time giant Wowowee in terms of ratings. However, Vhong clarified that there is no competition between the two shows and that he and Willie Revillame have a harmonious relationship. Vhong also shed light on the issue that when Willie could not host Wowowee one time and he was supposed to sub for him, Vhong was supposedly pulled out at the last minute because Willie allegedly has ill feelings towards him.
“Nangyari talaga ‘yon. Ang sinasabi lang ni Kuya (Willie) hindi lang nasabi sa kanya. So meron ding problema sa production dahil hindi rin natin masisisi si Kuya do’n. Hindi rin siya na-inform,” Vhong explained. He also said that he even called up Willie after the incident to clear things up with him.
As for Showtime’s success, Vhong said that they could not pin down the show’s popularity to one reason. He said that they are just grateful for the overwhelming support of viewers. “Experiment lang talaga nung una. Nagulat talaga. Kahit ‘yung bonding ng hosts iba. Sinasabi ni Direk Bobet (Vidanes) matagal na niya akong gustong makuha sa mga game show. Pero ‘yung schedule sumasabit,” he related.
Vhong shared that they have now resolved to stay away from competing with rival shows and just have fun each day on Showtime. “Hangga’t maaari ini-enjoy na lang namin ngayon. Basta kami mag-focus na lang kami sa work namin. Basta sa amin hindi namin iniisip ‘yung competition, basta ang sa amin, ‘yung mapasaya namin ‘yung mga tao.”
