The couple ham it up with their three “lolas” Wally Bayola, Paolo Ballesteros and Jose Manalo before a crowd of spectators, some of whom waited since dawn to get a good spot to watch the show. (CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA)
5,000 fans swarm barangay Lorega; Fire victim gets P65,000 cash gift
A family whose house burned down in last year’s fire in barangay Lorega San Miguel was the lucky choice for a random visit by TV’s phenomenal love team “Aldub”.
“It’s an early Christmas present. I couldn’t ask for more,” said Sarah Tripoli, who received a P60,000 check from the noontime variety show Eat Bulaga during the surprise visit of Maine “Yaya Dub” Mendoza and Alden Richards to the congested urban barangay in Cebu City.
The widow’s daughter Liahlenn said the family was embarrassed when the GMA team showed up at their door because the house had no roof.
Over 5,000 people, mostly eager fans, swarmed the narrow streets of Lorega San Miguel to get a glimpse of the celebrities, who put on a mini-show as part of the Kalyeserye segment.
Cheers erupted and people rushed in with their camera phones to get a selfie or souvenir shot.
When the segment started to air at noon, tanods struggled to keep excited fans at bay.
Lorega barangay captain Fritzgerald Herrera said the crowd started to surge and it was difficult to control them because people would not listen to directions.
“People were pushing. At one point, the TV director nearly shouted at the audience,” said Herrera but he said in the end, they were able to manage the situation.
It was only on December 3 when the TV network told him Lorega San Miguel was selected as the shooting location of the “barangayan”.
“If we were informed earlier then we could have been more prepared,” said Herrera, as organizers kept changing plans about what to do where.
“We were really caught of guard, but over all I guess that’s how the show works for them. Even artists are unpredictable,” said Herrera.
OVERWHELMED WIDOW
Tripoli, the housewife who was selected as the show’s lucky beneficiary, was overwhelmed.
Aside from P60,000, she won an additional P5,000 from a scratch-in game segment of the show.
“I’m very thankful to God and to GMA,” she said in Cebuano.
TV celebrities Maine Mendoza is “Yaya Dub” and Alden Richards is the other half of the “Aldub” phenomenon who walk through barangay Lorega in Cebu City to stage Eat Bulaga’s “Kalyeserye” live segment. (CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA)
Asked how she would spend it, the widow told Cebu Daily News she would used the money to transfer the mortal remains of her husband Norberto Tripoli Jr., who died five years ago, to a final resting place.
“His remains are in Queen City Garden cemetery. His bones need to be transferred to another spot,” she said.
Liahlenne, her daughter, said their home was burned in last year’s fire. They took shelter in the gym of barangay T. Padilla then transferred to barangay Zapatera when the area was reblocked.
With the prize money, she said they hope to rebuild their house so that all eleven family members can be together.
Despite their tight finances, she said her mother was the pillar of the family and taught them to work hard for the things they want.
In the popular TV show, the “sugod -bahay” segment selects at random one resident in a barangay to receive a generous cash prize and calls them by phone.
Residents from the target barangay can register by bringing 15 empty plastic bottles to be recycled and sold.
HEAVY TRAFFIC
Traffic was rerouted in the entire length of Lorega Street for the show.
Vehicle flow was heavy but continuous along Imus and Echavez Streets, said the Cebu City Traffic Office.
“We didn’t received any traffic reports from our office about problems with the show even with the presence of GMA personalities” said CCTO operation chief Joy Tumulak.
No cars were parked in the interior road after a clearing operation was made at 5:30 a.m.
“When we pulled out the cars, their owners were very cooperative and did not complain,” said Tumulak.
Six policemen reinforced 24 barangay tanods for security duty, including four members of the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team stationed at the entry point of the interior road.
Four people needed medical assistance due to dizziness but other than that there were no reports of fire and other major incidents said Herrera.
The kalyeserye also featured comic turns by the three grandmothers of Yaya Dub portrayed by Paolo Ballesteros (Lola Tidora), Manalo (Lola Tinidora), and Wally Bayola (Lola Nidora).
HEAT AND EMPTY STOMACHS
The noon heat and empty stomachs didn’t stop fans from waiting for the live show.
Loud cheers went up when any of the TV celebrities would step out of the barangay hall, their base camp.
The hosts would be swarmed with camera phones and requests to pose for photos.
Thousands of people came to witness one of the episodes of Eat Bulaga’s “Kalyeserye” held in Lorega. (CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA)
Yesterday, the Aldub couple celebrated their 22nd week anniversary and followed a storyline of a search for the father of Yaya Dub, hoping to find him in Cebu.
There was 18-year-old Remie dela Cruz, a member of the fan club Aldub Maiden Nation Cebu Chapter, who waited as early as 5 a.m. for the Eat Bulaga cast to arrive in the barangay.
“We only slept for two hours. We stayed up late to wait for further instructions of our fan club administrator,” she said.
During a break, she was able to approach the love team to give them gifts – a cake bought by the fan club and a “couple shirt” for both Yaya Dub and Alden.
“Grabe, di nako ma-explain ang feeling (Wow, I can’t explain how I feel,),”said De la Cruz with a big smile.
For her effort, the accounting student got their autographs.
At least 20 club members accompanied her and planned to follow the love team to their next event at SM Seaside City.
One member waited at the Mactan airport at dawn for their arrival.
Newspaper vendor Flordelyn Linawan said she skipped selling papers yesterday to see the TV couple.
Several spectators interviewed by CDN also skipped their lunch so they wouldn’t lose their space and vantage point to get a good view of the celebrities.
Most of the time barangay tanods were helpless in keeping the fans at a good distance from their idols.
Some pushed through barricades and climbed a fence at the nearby chapel next to the barangay hall where the celebrities stayed.
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