Bongga!
Encyclopedia
Bongga is a now-defunct regional variety show
Variety show
A variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is an entertainment made up of a variety of acts, especially musical performances and sketch comedy, and normally introduced by a compère or host. Other types of acts include magic, animal and circus acts, acrobatics, juggling...

 in the Philippines that aired every Sundays before "SOP" over GMA Network
GMA Network
GMA Network is a major commercial television & radio network in the Philippines. GMA Network is owned by GMA Network, Inc. a publicly listed company...

 TV 6
DYXX-TV
DYXX-TV, channel 6, is a television station of Philippine television network GMA Network in Iloilo City. The station is owned by Asian-Pacific Broadcasting Company under the operations of GMA Network. Its studios are located at the GMA Compound,Phase 5, Alta Tierra Vill., MacArthur Drive, Jaro,...

 in Iloilo and GMA TV 10 in Bacolod City. The show was popular for its segments "Pok Gi Pok", a gay boxing challenge where two gay contestants battle it out using oversized hand gloves; and "Bongga Babes", a bikini-open contest featuring the sexiest babes in Western Visayas. It also featured some of the hottest Ilonggo bands and dance groups in Western Visayas, with the special participation of some of the most popular GMA Kapuso stars flown in from Manila every now and then to join the "Bongga!" gang. Because of the show's own brand of fun and vibrant entertainment rarely seen in other local variety shows in Visayas and Mindanao, "Bongga" has earned the tag "Pinasahi sa Tanan" (Different among others).

Early years

Launched in October 1999, "Bongga"'s format was musical variety. Its shows were previously taped-as-live alternately from SM City Iloilo and Robinson's Place-Bacolod. The original hosts were Hector Gloria, Lara Alba, Debbie Pelor and Ansab Urpiana, with Campus Radio
Campus radio
Campus radio is a type of radio station that is run by the students of a college, university or other educational institution. Programming may be exclusively by students, or may include programmers from the wider community in which the radio station is based...

 DJs Jigo Mambo and Billy d' Kid acting as on-air video jocks (VJs). However after the show's first season, "Bongga" was reformatted as a gay-oriented variety program, with Jigo Mambo and Billy d' Kid joining Hector as main hosts. It started dishing out portions like "Palarong Pambakla", "Pok Gi Pok" and "Binibining Bonggay" that generated a lot of controversy among the conservative groups in Western Visayas. Despite the criticism, "Bongga" got high ratings basing on these segments alone and it helped them overcome the more established "Barkadahan sa S na S" of ABS-CBN TV 4 Bacolod.

"Kalingawan sg Masa" (Entertainment of the Masses/Aliwan para sa Masa) on tour

Soon after, "Bongga" began touring other places and campuses in the Philippines, conquering places like Cebu, Boracay, Sagay City, Guimbal, Miag-ao, Dumaguete, Davao and Baguio. "Bongga!" also marks the distinction as the only musical variety show that aired live from a prison building, when they held a show at the Iloilo Rehabilitation Center in 2002.

The All-New "Bongga!"

In October 2005, "Bongga" was relaunched with a new logo banner unveiled by two gay impersonators who jumped from the top of the Iloilo Business Hotel, the tallest structure in Iloilo City. Prior to the relaunch, the show reformatted back to its original musical variety format in 2003, while retaining the gay-oriented portions it was famous for. Original host Jigo Mambo was joined by new hosts John Arceo (who came from "Bongga"'s defunct rival show "Barkadahan sa S na S" of ABS-CBN Bacolod and also a character actor), Gilbert "Onal" Golez (who was born in Iloilo and had a short stint in Manila as a singer), and Ilonggo talents Joan Jalandoni, Apol Arro and Leez Quimpo. The show also had a grand anniversary show held at the Iloilo Freedom Grandstand with Kapuso stars Nadine Samonte, Ara Mina and Alfred Vargas as special guests. Over 20,000 people witnessed the event.

The Biggest Local Variety Show in Western Visayas

In August 2005, the show set a record in Western Visayas as the only local variety show that attracted more than 20,000 live audience when they taped an episode at SM City Iloilo featuring stars from "Darna" and "Encantadia" led by Angel Locsin
Angel Locsin
Angel Locsin is a Filipina television and film actress and commercial model. Aside from this, she is also a film producer and fashion designer....

, Dennis Trillo
Dennis Trillo
Abelardo Dennis Florencio Trillo Ho , more widely known as Dennis Trillo, is a Filipino award-winning actor, singer and fashion model. His film debut was in Aishite Imasu 1941. He is currently an artist of GMA Network...

, Sunshine Dizon
Sunshine Dizon
Sunshine Dizon is a Filipina actress. She started in show business when she was three years old.-Biography:...

, Karylle
Karylle
Ana Karylle Padilla Tatlonghari , better known as simply Karylle, has established herself as one of the most talented showbiz personalities in the Philippines. She is a respected singer, actress, TV host, athlete, and a writer/blogger....

 and Jennylyn Mercado
Jennylyn Mercado
Jennylyn Mercado is a Filipina actress, singer, songwriter and model. She was the winner of the first season of StarStruck, a reality-based talent search show of GMA Network in the Philippines...

. "Bongga" also served as a front-act for Eat Bulaga during the Grand Kapuso Fans Day held at the Iloilo Sports Complex in Iloilo City last September 17, 2005, performing before a record crowd of 60,000 people. Among the stars that graced the Kapuso Fans Day Special were the SexBomb Girls
SexBomb Girls
The Sexbomb Girls are an all-female singing, dancing, and acting group from the Philippines. They are known for the novelty songs "Spaghetti," "Bakit Papa" and "Bilog na Hugis Itlog" that were certified platinum in the Philippines...

, Janice de Belen
Janice de Belen
Janice de Belen is a Filipina actress, commercial model and television host who was a GMA Network contract artist. She returns back to ABS-CBN via Budoy -Early life:...

, Gelli de Belen
Gelli de Belen
Gelli de Belen is a Filipino actress, and former child star. She is the sister of former child star Janice de Belen.-Early life:Born Anna Gianelli De Belen on May 25, 1973. She is the sister of actress and TV host Janice de Belen...

, Carmina Villaroel
Carmina Villaroel
Maria Carmina Muñiz Villaroel, also known as Carmina Villaroel is a Filipino actress, television host, and model....

, Ogie Alcasid
Ogie Alcasid
Herminio Jhay Alcasid, Jr., more popularly known as Ogie "Eric Ordoñez" Alcasid , is a Filipino singer, songwriter, composer, television presenter, comedian, parodist, actor, and entrepreneur.-Recording career:...

 and German Moreno
German Moreno
German Moreno, also known as Kuya Germs or the Master Showman , is a Filipino television host, actor, comedian and Talent Manager popular during the 1980s...

.

Last January 27, 2006, talents of "Bongga" hosted the GMA Kapuso Night at the Iloilo Freedom Grandstand that featured some Kapuso stars from "Etheria", GMA KiliTV, and "SOP". The event was attended by more than 30,000 people.

On April 2, 2006, 24 Oras
24 Oras
24 Oras ' is the flagship national network news broadcast of GMA Network. A nightly national newscast which airs in the Philippines and worldwide via GMA Pinoy TV. It is aired Weeknights at 6:30-8:00 PM, Saturdays at 5:15 to 6:00 PM and Sundays at 6:00 to 6:45 PM...

 news anchor and TV host Mel Tiangco guested in "Bongga!" to promote the upcoming Easter Sunday episode of "Mel and Joey" where the entire show will feature the tourist spots and delicacies of Iloilo and Bacolod together with the StarStruck
StarStruck (Philippine TV series)
StarStruck is a Philippine over-all talent competition airing on GMA Network. It debuted on October 27, 2003, and has since become one of the most popular shows on Philippine television....

Final 4 of Marky Cielo, Jackie Rice, Gian Carlos and Iwa Moto. The particular episode was shown on Easter Sunday.

On April 29, 2006, "Bongga!" host Cherry Mae Barbo participated during the Aliwan Festival's Reyna ng Aliwan pageant as Iloilo's representative. Barbo won 2nd runner-up despite not winning any special awards.

On August 5, 2006, "Bongga!" once again successfully staged a big show during the 2nd Grand Kapuso Fans Day held at the Iloilo Sports Complex Covered Gym in Iloilo City. Over 10,000 people attended the event. Among those who graced the show were Yasmien Kurdi, JC de Vera, Rhian Ramos, Iwa Moto, Gian Carlos, Antonio Aquitania and Ara Mina.

In October 2006, "Bongga!" was active on tour again as part of GMA's Kapuso Weekend Fever which featured big-named GMA Kapuso Stars touring Iloilo, Bacolod, Cebu and Davao. The show also celebrated its 7th anniversary on October 13, 2006 at the Iloilo Freedom Grandstand, with Nadine Samonte, Marvin Agustin and Cueshe as guests.

On January 26, 2007, "Bongga!" once again staged a successful show at the Iloilo Freedom Grandstand during GMA's Kapuso Night where GMA stars like Wendell Ramos, Maureen Larrazabal, Shamrock, Francine Prieto, Nadine Samonte and Jennylyn Mercado performed before a huge crowd. On January 27, 2007, the show promoted the new telefantasya "Super Twins" and "Lupin" during the Dinagyang eve show at SM City. During the summer season, "Bongga!" was able to cash in on GMA's nationwide "Sumamer Ka Na" campaign by bringing viewers to different festivals around the country like "Aliwan Festival" and "Wow Villa".

Reformat

On the second week of July, the show underwent a major revamp as GMA Iloilo publicly announced auditions for new on-cam talents and will hire people to be part of their production staff. Positions for TV director, writers and segment producers were also declared as open. In the coming weeks, the show will introduce new segments and new hosts. While the transition is on-going, Jigo Mambo, Leez Quimpo, Em Capalla and Angel are currently doing the hosting chores. The fate of other hosts like John Arceo, Onal Golez and Joan Jalandoni are still being determined as of press time, although John and Joan has since returned to the show.

Last July 26, 2007, "Bongga!" held a musical special entitled "Kapuso Serbis-Yo! Live Bongga!" (Service! Live Extravagant!) at the Iloilo Freedom Grandstand. Despite the intermittent weather, the show went on and showcased different local talents from the field of music and dance from different genres. It was a total deviation from the usual fare that "Bongga!" offers every week to Ilonggo televiewers as the hosts talked less and gave the spotlight to local talents complemented with an explosive performance by Kamikazee
Kamikazee
Kamikazee is a Filipino rock band formed in 2000. The band is composed of Jay Contreras, Jomal Linao, Led Tuyay, Puto Astete and Bords Burdeos.- History :...

 band from Manila. The new format of "more production numbers, less talk" was introduced on July 14, 2006 at Robinson's Place Iloilo. "Bongga"'s new all musical variety format is meant to keep the show a notch higher than its competitors and be at par with the Manila variety shows.

In August 2007, "Bongga!" lost out to rival show "Sabado Barkada
Sabado barkada
Sabado Barkada is a musical variety show in the Philippines. It airs every Saturdays before "Game KNB?" over ABS-CBN TV 4 in Bacolod. It also airs in neighboring cities such as Iloilo and the whole of Western Visayas. The show takes its inspiration from talent search and discovery program formats...

" of ABS-CBN in the ratings game based on the July ratings for Nielsen Media Research in Iloilo City. Although both shows were airing on different days (Sabado Barkada airs on Saturdays), the comparative ratings showed that "Sabado" posted higher ratings. "Bongga!" decided to bring back the parlor games it was known for, complete with elements of reality TV.

The Dinagyang Controversy

On January 28, 2007 "Bongga" hosts Jigo Mambo and Joan Jalandoni joined forces with some talents of ABS-CBN to host the Dinagyang
Dinagyang
The Dinagyang is a religious and cultural festival in Iloilo City, Philippines held on the fourth Sunday of January, or right after the Sinulog In Cebu and the Ati-Atihan in Aklan. It is held both to honor the Santo Niño and to celebrate the arrival on Panay of Malay settlers and the subsequent...

 awarding ceremonies. As part of the ceremonies, both ABS-CBN and GMA Network provided their talents to entertain the crowd while waiting for the results. One character on the show, Josef Mary, enjoys the taste of his own pee. The show was supposed to start at around 5 pm Philippine time. However because of some delays in the preparation, the Dinagyang Foundation organizers decided to start the program proper at 6 pm. At the same time, the organizers gave 30 minutes each for both networks to provide entertainment. GMA Network was allowed to go first, and brought in Gabby Eigenmann and Sunshine Dizon
Sunshine Dizon
Sunshine Dizon is a Filipina actress. She started in show business when she was three years old.-Biography:...

 to perform. Each talents were allowed to perform 2 songs. Gabby was able to perform while Sunshine's performance was abruptly cut.

Video footages from GMA Iloilo's newscast "Ratsada" showed two instances that Sunshine Dizon's performance was sabotaged. The first came after Sunshine's first song, Jigo Mambo approached her for a short interview but their microphone audio went off and instead an audio from Sky Cable's talent came in. The second incident came after Sunshine's supposed 2nd song when in the middle of her performance, a lady host from ABS-CBN came up the stage and hyped the crowd with the arrival of ABS-CBN talent Matt Evans of "Pedro Penduko" fame. With her was "Bongga"'s Joan Jalandoni who was there to control the situation but her microphone went off.

The apparent sabotage earned the ire of Sunshine Dizon and her mother Dorothy Laforteza. Also the management of ABS-CBN Iloilo was hands off after the incident, denying any involvement on their part. The Dinagyang incident gave 15 minutes of nationwide fame for the two "Bongga" hosts Jigo and Joan, since the whole incident was aired over GMA's "24 Oras
24 Oras
24 Oras ' is the flagship national network news broadcast of GMA Network. A nightly national newscast which airs in the Philippines and worldwide via GMA Pinoy TV. It is aired Weeknights at 6:30-8:00 PM, Saturdays at 5:15 to 6:00 PM and Sundays at 6:00 to 6:45 PM...

". Joan was also among those interviewed about the incident together with Sunshine Dizon, Gabby Eigenmann and ABS-CBN Iloilo Station Manager Charie Ginete-Ilon.

Farewell Episode

"Bongga!" aired its farewell episode last September 2, 2007 without much fanfare. Conspicuously, its main hosts Jigo Mambo and John Arceo were absent while female host Joan took hosting duties with 2 gay hosts. At the closing credits, the message that read Madamo nga salamat, Kapuso! 1999-2007 (Thank you very much Kapuso) was shown on the screen capped with the Kapuso logo.

"Bongga!" went off the air at the height of its popularity, and it consistently retained its status as one of the premier top-rating local variety shows outside of Metro Manila.

Hosts

  • Jigo Mambo
  • John Arceo
  • Leez Quimpo
  • Em Capalla
  • Angel
    Angel
    Angels are mythical beings often depicted as messengers of God in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles along with the Quran. The English word angel is derived from the Greek ἄγγελος, a translation of in the Hebrew Bible ; a similar term, ملائكة , is used in the Qur'an...

  • Joan Jalandoni

Previous Co-hosts

  • Hector Gloria (1999–2003)
  • Billy d' Kid (1999–2003)
  • Debbie Pelor (1999)
  • Ansab Urpiana (1999–2000)
  • Lara Alba (1999–2000)
  • Ruth (1999)
  • Tricia Aguirre (1999, became the show's director)
  • Sunshine Gregorio (2000)
  • Teresa Bacabac (2003–2004)
  • Candy Doronila (2000)
  • Varvin Hope Simon Hiñola (2005–2006)- recurring
  • April Rose Arro (2003–2005; 2007)
  • Tuska Bianca Alivio (2003–2005)
  • Bonggastruck's Mark, Gladys, DT, Michael, Carlo (2005)
  • Charles Ea (2006)
  • Cherry May Barbo (2006–2007)
  • Kenneth Villanueva (2007)
  • Gilbert Onal Golez (2003–2007)
  • Carlo Quiat (2004–2006)

One-time Celebrity Guest Co-hosts

  • K. C. Montero
  • Jake Cuenca
    Jake Cuenca
    Juan Carlos "Jake" Leveriza Cuenca is a Spanish-Filipino actor and model. He started as a GMA talent center artist, and later transferred to ABS-CBN's talent center, Star Magic.-Early life:...

  • Gian Carlos
    Gian Carlos
    Gian Carlos is a Filipino actor. He was one of the Final Four of StarStruck Batch 3 where he finished behind Marky Cielo for the title of Ultimate StarStruck Male Survivor....

  • Luke Mijares
    Luke Mijares
    Michael Luke Mejares is a Filipino singer.-Works:He was chosen as the new vocalist of South Border in 1999, but he left the group in 2002. As a solo recording artist he remade Rivermaya's "214"...

  • Sunshine Dizon
    Sunshine Dizon
    Sunshine Dizon is a Filipina actress. She started in show business when she was three years old.-Biography:...

  • Tiya Pusit
  • Francine Prieto
    Francine Prieto
    Francine Prieto born Anna Marie Falcon is a former award-winning child star, a fashion model and movie actress from the Philippines. She is of Filipino and Norwegian descent.-Education:Francine studied B.S...

  • Iwa Moto
    Iwa Moto
    Aileen Iwamoto popularly known by her screen name Iwa Moto, is a Filipino Japanese actress, model and teen star. She was one of the Final Four in the 2nd season of StarStruck, a reality-based talent search show of GMA Network in the Philippines and finished as first runner up...

  • Jolina Magdangal
    Jolina Magdangal
    -Filmography:Pasan ko ang Daigdig-Television:-Studio albums:-Compilation albums:-2007:* FAMAS Awards - Golden Artist Awardee* PMPC Star Awards for TV - Favorite Female Host Starstruck: The Next Level* UNICEF Ambassadres of Goodwill...

  • Paolo Ballesteros
    Paolo Ballesteros
    Paolo Ballesteros is a Filipino actor, TV host and model. He has appeared in films and several TV shows...

  • Arnel Ignacio

Directors

  • Tricia Aguirre
  • Moonlight Lady
  • Elmo Benguan
  • Reggie Molina
  • Varvin Hope Simon Hiñola

Achievements

  • KBP Golden Dove Awardee- Best Provincial Variety Show (2001)
  • No. 1 Local Variety Show (Western Visayas) according to PSRC Survey (2000–2005)
  • Reyna ng Aliwan 2nd Runner Up Aliwan Festival- Bongga host Cherry May Barbo (2006)
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