Former ‘Eat Bulaga’ host Anjo Yllana has once again stirred controversy online after calling his former co-host Jose Manalo “ahas” and “mayabang” in a new TikTok video reacting to the SexBomb Girls’ guest performance on ‘Eat Bulaga’.
During the group’s performance of their 2002 hit ‘Bakit Papa,’ the lyrics that originally mentioned Yllana’s name — “Si Anjo Yllana, mukhang may pagtingin” — were changed to “Si Jose Manalo, mukhang may pagtingin.”
The revision didn’t sit well with Anjo, who claimed that Jose was behind the lyric change.
“Sasabihin ko na sa inyo, isa sa pinakamasamang ugali d’yan sa Eat Bulaga si Jose Manalo. Kapag wala si Bossing [Vic Sotto] d’yan, napakayabang ng taong ‘yan. Ilang beses ko nang gustong sapakin ‘yan,” Anjo said in his viral video.
He then accused Jose of allegedly “stealing” his former girlfriend, who is now Jose’s wife, former EB Babe Mergene Maranan.
“Ito, for the first time, aaminin ko sa inyo. Nung ako ay hiwalay sa aking asawa, nagkaroon ako ng girlfriend at minahal ko naman siya. Nag-live in kami ng almost one year. Minsan nag-LQ kami, nagsumbong sa akin ‘yung girlfriend ko, umiiyak siya. Pinagalitan daw siya ni Jose Manalo. Sabi daw ni Jose, ‘Bakit ka kumakabit sa may asawa? May asawa na ‘yon. Hiwalayan mo ‘yan si Anjo.’ Eh hiwalay na nga ako, ‘di ba?”
He then revealed that Mergene eventually became Jose’s wife.
“Kaya pala niya ginawa ‘yon. Oo, ngayon asawa na niya si Mergene Maranan. Girlfriend ko ‘yan isang taon. Wala naman kaming problema n’un. Ang ano ko lang… ahas talaga itong si Jose Manalo,” he said.
Despite his remarks, Anjo clarified that he wasn’t upset about the lyric change itself and even laughed it off.
“Naano lang ako sa kanta. Natawa lang. Talagang pinalitan pa ‘yung lyrics para lang maasar ako. Eh hindi naman ako naaasar, natatawa nga ako,” he said.
“Okay lang sa akin na tumawa kayo basta hanggang tawa lang ha? Huwag n’yo akong sisiraan. Alam n’yo na, pareng Joey, pareng Vic. It’s alright. Ganyan talaga ang buhay. At least once, naging original ako doon sa lyrics.”
The ‘Eat Bulaga’ performance of the SexBomb Girls, which aired on November 8, marked the group’s reunion after two decades. Their lyric swap — replacing “Anjo Yllana” with “Jose Manalo” — quickly went viral, especially after Anjo’s tirades against Eat Bulaga and host Tito Sotto earlier this year.
As of writing, neither Jose Manalo nor ‘Eat Bulaga’ has issued a response to Anjo’s latest statements.
