The Voice Philippines Season 2 Finalist, Kokoi Baldo, passed away at 44, his family confirmed.
His family announced the sad news to his fans through Facebook and asked for privacy.
“It is with a heavy heart to inform the public, especially the fans, that Kokoi Baldo has passed away earlier this morning. We kindly ask for privacy during this hard time in respect to his family and friends. He will be missed, loved and forever in our hearts. If there will be any updates, it will be posted here. Thank you all for your understanding,” the official page of Kokoi posted.
According to the reports, Kokoi was run over by a truck while riding his motorcycle along the Circumferential Road in Barangay Mandalagan, Bacolod City.
The driver was identified as Bunny Flor, who’s currently under the custody of the authorities.
Kokoi’s motorcycle was recovered and didn’t show any signs of damage.
Kokoi joined ‘The Voice Philippines in 2014, and his audition video even went viral after he performed ‘One Day’ by Matisyahu.
His performance impressed the coaches and even reached the finals despite only specializing in singing reggae.
Unfortunately, he didn’t win the contest and was defeated by Jason Dy.
E.A.T host Vic Sotto believed it was the right timing for them to finally use the ‘Eat Bulaga’ title amid their legal battle against their former handler, Television and Production Exponents (TAPE) Inc.
During a press conference held at E.A.T studios on December 6, 2023, Vic said they would only use the title of the longest-running noontime show again when TAPE Inc. finally stopped using it.
According to him, it would be better for TAPE Inc. to respect the real owners of the Eat Bulaga title, which was believed to be coined by Joey de Leon.
“Siguro pag tumigil na ‘yung gumagamit na iba at nagpakita ng respeto, ‘yun na siguro ang tamang panahon [na gamitin],” said Vic.
“Pagka nagpakita an sila ng respeto at tigilan na nila ang panggagamit ng hindi sa kanila e mas masaya at siguradong hindi lang Merry Christmas kundi Happy New Year talaga!” he added.
However, it seems that TAPE Inc. would not surrender the title ‘Eat Bulaga’ even after the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) removed the company’s trademark rights on the title of the popular noontime show.
According to Atty. Maggie Abraham-Garduque, they would use all legal remedies to appeal the said decision.
IPOPHL’s decision might influence the other complaints filed by TVJ against TAPE Inc.
Celebrity Chiropractor Dr. Tyler Bigenho addressed the spread of his private video on social media, which quickly spread in the Philippine webspace.
In his video, the doctor said that due to the spread of the video, he was subjected to blackmailing and negative messages from the netizens.
“Over the past week I have been the victim of blackmail and extortion over social media, and it’s been probably the worst week of my life. And I wanna thank everybody who knows about the situation, who has reached out and offered words of support and encouragement, I really appreciate you, thank you so much,” said Tyler.
“It’s really hard and I’ve never gone through like this before, I can’t say much more than that, because there are high-level authorities involved in this case…” he added.
Tyler also said that he would cancel his visit to the Philippines due to the unsafeness of his situation.
“Might have to cancel my trip to the Philippines in March 2024. Don’t feel safe,” he said.
As of writing, the said video was still circulating on social media, but the doctor has yet to give any of his plans on how would he handle the situation.
The lawyer of Television and Production Exponents (TAPE) Inc. insisted that Tito Sotto, Vic Sotto, and Joey de Leon were still not allowed to use the title ‘Eat Bulaga’ on television despite the decision of the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL).
It can be recalled that IPOPHL removed the trademark owners of TAPE over Eat Bulaga on December 5, 2023.
However, Atty. Maggie Abraham-Garduque said that they would still appeal the decision made by IPOPHL.
“It is the vehement submission of TAPE that they can still use ‘Eat Bulaga’ since the decision of the hearing officer of the BLA-IPO [Bureau of Legal Affairs-Intellectual Property Office] is not yet final and in fact appealable. Likewise, TVJ cannot use it on their show as their application with the Bureau of Trademarks has not been granted,” the lawyer said in a statement.
“In the event that TVJ preemptively use it on their show, TAPE will definitely file cases against TVJ and TVJ Productions to protect the interest of TAPE Inc,” she added.
Meanwhile, TVJ described the decision as an ‘early Christmas gift’ for the Dabarkads, but they didn’t disclose when they would use the Eat Bulaga title.
TVJ’s lawyer, Atty. Buko Dela Cruz also said that TVJ was really allowed to use the Eat Bulaga title even without any decision from IPOPHL or court.
Amid the successive breakups between celebrity couples, Jak Roberto didn’t evade the eagle-eyed netizens after being spotted with Vivamax actress Ava Mendez.
Jak was being named on several posts on social media after a story from an anonymous source claimed that the two celebrities had sweet moments during a party held at a hotel.
The said event was a birthday party of Jak and Ava’s common friend.
The said story was circulated on several social media platforms, and the source even challenged the netizens to ask for CCTV footage of the hotel.
However, most netizens were skeptical of the story, saying Jak would never betray his partner, Barbie Forteza.
They also criticized the alleged source, saying that hotel staff like Giezel must not disclose any information about their guests even if the story was true.
It was also impossible for anyone to ask an establishment for CCTV footage unless a serious incident required investigation.
As of writing, Jak has yet to address the rumors.
Ava also had a short relationship with rapper Skusta Clee.
Aside from Jak, Daniel Padilla, Xian Lim, Mavy Agustin, and Richard Gutierrez also faced breakup rumors with their celebrity partners.
Andrea Brillantes’ mother went viral on social media after she answered back to a netizen’s question about her daughter.
On her Instagram post, Belle Brillantes took a swipe against the critics of her daughter, who was being blamed for the breakup of Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla.
Andrea was being linked to Daniel, and her silence fueled the speculations that the rumors were true.
Belle addressed the criticisms, saying she would ignore the negative comments against them.
“So much hatred in the net these days. We turned into bunch of savages. Spread all that hate and lies, these negativity will not break my spirit. I am thankful for being alive, my kids and my mom being healthy. Im surrounded by people with so much love and compassion. Hate is baggage, life is too short to be angry all the time. I may not be getting the numbers that im aiming but i shall compete again tomorrow, i will finish this competition, bahala kayo dyan lahat magkagulo,” Belle wrote.
However, Belle couldn’t stop herself when a netizen asked how she raised her daughter.
“Paano? Napagtapos nya sa school mga kapatid nya, nakapag pagawa ng bahay , may sariling negosyo , ikaw anong ambag mo sa mundo?” Belle said.
Instead of receiving support, Belle has been criticized by internet celebrities and netizens, including Xian Gaza.
According to him, it was Belle’s responsibility to fund the education of her children and not Andrea.
“Mommy Belle, hindi ka po dapat proud na si Andrea ang nakapagpagawa ng bahay niyo at nakapagpatapos ng mga anak mo sa school. Kasi kapag ipinagsigawan mo po ito eh para mo pong siniraan yung sarili mo sa publiko. Hindi ko po kayo maaaring husgahan dahil hindi ko po alam ang buong kwento ng inyong pamilya. Ang akin lang eh mag-ingat po tayo sa mga binibitawang salita in public at huwag magpadala sa silakbo ng damdamin,” said Xian.
“To the public, responsibilidad ng isang magulang na mapagtapos kayo hanggang grade 12. Bonus na lang yung college. Responsibilidad din nito na mabigyan kayo ng maayos na tahanan. Hindi niyo responsibilidad yung mga kapatid ninyo. Tumutulong lang kayo sa kanila out of pagmamahal. At kung natulungan nila kayo, ayan ay tinatawag na utang na loob. Huwag niyo silang abusuhin. Hindi nila kayo obligasyon. Hindi nila kasalanan kung bakit hindi makapag-provide ng maayos yung mga magulang niyo. Mahigpit na yakap sa lahat ng mga Ate at Kuya na breadwinner ng pamilya!” he added.
Atty. Buko dela Cruz believed that Tito Sotto, Vic Sotto, and Joey de Leon could use the ‘Eat Bulaga’ title anytime but chose to respect the rule of law.
During a press conference held at E.A.T studios on December 6, 2023, the lawyer of TVJ said that the trademark appeal made by his clients only covered the right to use Eat Bulaga on merchandise, and it doesn’t mean that the veteran comedians were not allowed by law to use the title of the longest-running noontime show.
“Ang opinyon talaga ng Divina Law… pwede nang gamitin kahit noon pa, even before the decision came out dahil nga ‘yung rehistro nila hindi para sa entertainment. Ang rehistro nila ay para sa merchandise gaya ng sinabi ni Tito Sen,” said Atty. Dela Cruz.
However, TVJ chose to respect the due process and let Television and Production Exponents (TAPE) Inc. use the Eat Bulaga title for now.
“Sila ang pumili e. Si TVJ ang nagparaya st sinabing ‘ayaw namin ng gulo. Tutal may proseso, sundan natin ang proseso’. Nirespeto nila. Ngayong lumabas na at sinasabi mismo ng gobyerno na ang talagang may ari ang may karapatan sa title na ‘Eat Bulaga’ o ‘EB’ ay ang TVJ, ay dapat sila naman ang rumespeto para isa lang ang gagamit. Kung ang tanong is kailan pwedeng gamitin, anytime,” he stated.
Vic said that they would only use the Eat Bulaga once TAPE Inc. stopped insisting that they owned the title.
“Siguro pag tumigil na ‘yung gumagamit na iba at nagpakita ng respeto, ‘yun na siguro ang tamang panahon,” he said.
Meanwhile, TAPE Inc. said that they would explore all legal remedies to reverse the decision of the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL).
Tito Sotto, Vic Sotto, and Joey de Leon were happy that the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) removed the trademark ownership of Television and Production Exponents (TAPE) Inc. over Eat Bulaga branding.
On December 6, 2023, TVJ thanked those who came with them when they left GMA Network to form a new show E.A.T.
The veteran hosts were not also surprised by the IPOPHL’s decision, saying that they’re on the side of the truth.
“Kung tingin mo tama, ganoon ang paniniwala ko. Alam ko ‘yung tama, alam ko legally nasa tama kami, kaya expected ko ‘yan, hindi ko lang alam kung kailan [kami mananalo]” said Tito Sotto.
“Parang nagbubuntis ‘yan eh, siyam na buwang magbubuntis, mayroong mapapaaga [o] lalagpas pero alam mo na lalabas din,” Joey de Leon responded.
“Saka Diyos ko, siguro tama na ‘yong 44 years,” he added.
According to them, if they would not really insist to use the Eat Bulaga if they were not really the legal owner of the said title.
They’re also said that their victory was an early Christmas gift for all the Dabarkads.
“We’re so happy about it being officially recognized by the government, not just by the people, [but] by law, official recognized ng batas. So talagang parang early Christmas gift,” said Sotto.
However, Joey said that they do not really mind what title would they use on their noontime show.
TVJ said that they would not divuldge their next legal step for now.
Eat Bulaga host Paolo Contis reacted to the decision made by the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) to remove the ownership of Television and Production Exponents (TAPE) Inc. on the trademark of Eat Bulaga title and logo.
On December 6, 2023, Paolo took a swipe against the decision and insisted they would still appeal the decision that might remove their rights to use the Eat Bulaga title even on their noontime show.
Paolo insisted that the decision was still not yet final.
“Magandang tanghali! Nakaputi ako ngayon, iba ang outfit-an ko ngayon pero simple lang ang gusto kong sabihin para sa ating mga Kapuso. Mga Kapuso, mahaba pa po ang laban. Ibig sabihin, legally, wala pang final. Okay?,” said Paolo.
“Pero ito lang po ang pangako namin, ano man ang mangyari, ang nasimulan po namin na tulong at saya ay itutuloy lang po namin araw-araw. Dahil ‘yun naman po ang dahilan kung bakit kami pumapasok araw-araw. Kayo po ang dahilan kaya nandito kami,” he added.
Meanwhile, netizens couldn’t hide their disappointment towards Paolo for allegedly showing his attitude on national television.
Some netizens told Paolo that he should respect the decision of IPOPHL and reminded that Joey de Leon was the one who invented the title.
It can be recalled that IPOPHL removed the rights of TAPE Inc. to use Eat Bulaga branding on their merchandise.
The lawyer of Tito Sotto, Vic Sotto, and Joey de Leon, Atty. Buko Dela Cruz, expressed his happiness after they won the trademark complaint they filed against Television and Production Exponents (TAPE) Inc.
In an interview with MJ Marfori, Atty. Dela Cruz said that the decision of the Intellectual Property of the Philippines (IPOPHIL) to remove the trademark rights of TAPE Inc. over Eat Bulaga branding was an early Christmas gift for them.
“Talagang tunay na maligaya ang Pasko natin dahil sinabi ngayon ng adjudicator ng IPO na ang tunay na may-ari ng markang Eat Bulaga ay ang Tito, Vic, and Joey,” said Dela Cruz.
“Panalo ang Dabarkads sa araw na ‘to,” he added.
However, the lawyer said that it would be too early to celebrate as TAPE might appeal the finding and they could still use the Eat Bulaga branding while waiting for the decision.
On December 5, 2023, IPOPHL said that TAPE Inc. failed to prove that they invented the term Eat Bulaga, which was popularly believed to have been coined by Joey.
According to the decision, Joey was the one who suggested the title ‘Eat Bulaga’ to the former chairman of TAPE Inc., Romeo Jalosjos Sr. and the latter approved it.
