Willie Revillame — will he or won’t he run for office?

AT least three TV hosts are believed to be chasing their senatorial dream come the mid-term elections next year. Of the three, confirmed as of January this year is Willie Revillame.

The former “Wowowin” host made the announcement himself at the prayer rally on January 28 dubbed as Hakbang sa Maisug at the San Pedro Square in Davao City.

Willie — and no other showbiz personality — received the invite from no less than former President Rodrigo Duterte.

Three years ago, the TV host met with Senator Bong Go and former president Rodrigo Duterte to discuss his political plans. FACEBOOK PHOTO/SENATORBONGGO 

It was the latter who proudly introduced Willie before a mammoth crowd of Davaoeños.

Once on stage, Willie took a trip down memory lane as he recounted having been personally invited by Digong over lunch at the Malacañang Palace after the Covid outbreak. It was Senator Christopher “Bong” Go who brokered the meeting.

Digong’s purpose was an obvious given — he wanted Willie to run for senator. Cutting to the chase, the then-President was confident the host would be a shoo-in based on popular stories about the latter’s charismatic appeal to the masses.

Willie was honest enough to tell Digong that much as he wanted to seize the offer, he possibly couldn’t give in. He cited his daily program on GMA that ate up his time yet bargained for a little more time to think things over.

Came the day when loyal Wowowin viewers were expecting Willie — as he promised — to finally break the news himself. For some reason, the proverbial cat got his tongue.

Fast forward.

It was in February 2022 when Willie announced on his program that after much serious thought, he was considering former Senator Manny Villar’s offer to transfer to AllTV.

Despite having made up his mind of choosing the Villar-owned network over GMA — that had served as Wowowin’s home for close to eight years — his goodbye was not without profuse gratitude to the station’s big cheese.

Willie Revillame FACEBOOK PHOTO/WOWOWIN2023OFFICIAL 

Like any fledgling organization, AllTV had its share of birthing pains. To be more precise and blunt about it, the new industry player hardly kicked off the ground.

This was when Willie found himself stuck in a bind. At the same time, he wasn’t enjoying as much good publicity, even from media practitioners he thought he had established close ties with.

Willie’s demeanor — most especially when not in his best element — is an open book in showbiz circles. He rants and reprimands his program staff on air, even to the extent of dropping their names on air unabashedly.

Albeit minus the mention of their names, I vividly remember at least two people from showbiz whom Willie had rebuked and tongue-lashed.

One of the two (a talent manager), Willie said, stormed in his dressing room asking him to guest a companion on his show. Willie acquiesced to the request, even gave him a pocketful of money.

Sensing he was the one being alluded to, Ogie Diaz made an admission on his online program. But Ogie thought it was important for Willie to know that the money he parted had gone straight to the breast foundation he had put up. For a cause, in other words.

Came another “moocher” who Willie claimed had received a brand-new car from him and separately, a condo unit as a birthday present.

The next day, Cristy Fermin pleaded “guilty” to the being the recipient. On her teleradyo program, Cristy countered she had long before traded in the vehicle.

The shocking part is that to this day Cristy has no documents whatsoever on hand to prove her rightful ownership of the condo unit at Wil Tower (which Willie owns).

Now, back to Willie’s senatorial aspiration.

On stage, the displaced TV host took pride in saying: “Handa na po akong tumakbo bilang Senador. Handa po akong tumulong sa aking kapwa (I’m now prepared to run for Senator. I’m ready and willing to help people).”

Willie even stressed: “Kusang-loob po akong tumutulong (I willingly help)”

On her program the next day, Cristy took a cue from there.There was no stopping the veteran showbiz writer from saying on air, “Ako mismo ang makakapagpatunay na kapag tumulong ka, nanunudsud ka! Binabalikan mo ‘yung mga taong tinulungan mo, nanunumbat ka! ‘Yan ba ‘yung kusang-loob? (It’s I who can attest that you get back at those people you help, is that what you call wholehearted?)”

Cristy claimed that Willie is no different from the stereotype political wannabe, “Siyempre, pag ikaw ay tumatakbo, best foot forward ‘yan. Lahat ng magaganda, ‘yan ang sasabihin mo (Naturally, you put your best foot forward to win votes. You need to build yourself up).”

This early, Cristy vowed that Willie’s name is not on her list of senatorial bets.

But wait, is it true that not once has Cristy exercised her right to vote since time immemorial? Well, the least that Cristy can do to is to launch a massive “Don’t Vote Willie!” campaign among her family members, friends and loyal listeners/viewers.

Here’s the latest buzz (as of April 10), quoting her sources, Cristy reported on her online program that Willie has decidedly given up on his senatorial dream.

The TV host, Cristy clarified, would rather focus on the return of his daily program Wowowin this time on TV5.

Earlier reports indicated that should this happen, Willie’s variety cum public service show will air right after Eat Bulaga. Target program launch: third quarter of this year.

Looks like it’s a wise move considering that if Willie will run in May, he will have to face an election ban upon filing of his CoC this October.

To top it all, just what will Willie be of use at the Senate: donor of his famous jacket?