As his February 26 wedding to his longtime girlfriend Priscilla Meirelles draws near, Happy Yipee Yehey! host John Estrada admitted he is in high spirits in anticipation for his upcoming nuptials despite the fact that Willie Revillame will not be one of his best men anymore.
The 37-year-old comedian-host said he originally planned to have two of his closest friends in showbiz stand with him at the altar to be with his new bride, but with the recent turn of events, it looks like it will just be his former Palibhasa Lalake co-star Richard Gomez who will take that position.
“Dalawa talaga sila ni Goma na best man. So si Goma na lang ngayon. Wala na akong magagawa dun kung nag-back out siya. Desisyon na niya yun. Sa akin lang naman, kung ‘di man siya sisipot, as long as sisipot si Priscilla, masaya na ako. (laughs),” he said in jest during the Happy Yipee Yehey! presscon held last February 8 at the Dolphy theater inside the ABS-CBN compound.
Although he was initially in talks with TV5 for the coverage of his wedding, John said that he decided to give exclusive rights to ABS-CBN after the recent turn of events, which included him getting unexpectedly axed from a show on his former network a short while after accepting ABS-CBN’s offer to do a noontime show.
But John said that TV5 has accepted the fact that he changed his mind about whom to give the TV rights to.
“Kausap ko yung mga taga-TV5 at sinabi nila sa akin na gusto nila ituloy. Pero parang nakakatawa dahil isipin mo sila magko-cover ng kasal tapos after nun parang, ‘Thank you ha, wala na next week ha!’ Ganun. ‘Di ba parang naman hindi naman makatotohanan yun. So sinabi ko sa kanila na although wala naman kaming pinipirmahan pang kontrata, sabi ko, ‘Pagpasensiyahan niyo na pero ibibigay ko na sa ABS-CBN ito.’ Kaya nagpapasalamat ako sa ABS-CBN. Kaya nagpapasalamat ako kay Tita Cory (Vidanes), Tita Charo (Santos) at kay Boss Gabby (Lopez) at kinuha na nila ang exclusive coverage ng kasal ko,” he said.
Although he is excited to start working on Happy Yipee Yehey!, John expressed sadness over having to sever ties with a network that he still fells very grateful to for having given him good career opportunities.
“When I talked with ABS-CBN executives over lunch, ang hinihingi sa akin ng channel 2 nun ay umalis na sa ako sa 5. Sinabi ko sa kanila na hindi ko puwedeng iwanan yun dahil sila ang nagbigay sa akin ng sitcom na matagal ko ng hinihingi dito at nagpapasalamat ako na kinuha ako ng TV5. Hindi pa si Manny Pangilinan ang may-ari nun. Masakit lang nung nalaman ko dahil sinabi sa akin na aalisin na ako sa mga programa ko. Dun sa isang program, I had to resign pero dun sa isang sitcom ay nalaman ko na aalisin na nila ako. Alam naman siguro natin kung paano mag-isip, we can read between the lines,” he said, alluding to the fact that things are connected to his having chosen to forego that network’s counter offer for another show for him and Randy Santiago that Willie Revillame was supposedly arranging for.
John said he feels most disappointed about the fact that he has been asked to leave a program that he has been a part of for the past three years.
“Ang totoo ay nasaktan ako dahil matagal na ako dun eh. Yung mga artista dun naging close ko na rin so kung tatanungin mo ako kung anong reaction ko dun sa tinanggal sa akin na sitcom ay medyo masakit sa akin,” he shared.
Despite everything that has happened, John still hopes that things will eventually smooth over between him and Willie.
He said that he understands his best friend’s sentiments, but he hopes that their friendship will still endure in the end.
“Totoo na medyo naputol yung communication namin for some reason, hindi ko alam. Kami ni Randy, sinusubukan naming palambutin ang puso niya. Parati naming sinasabi na wala talagang maaayos sa mundo kung walang komunikasyon o pag-uusap. Hindi natin makakamtan yun dahil yung kabilang kampo eh ayaw kaming sagutin. Kami naman ay walang hinahangad na masama sa kanya. Dahil kami ay tao lang, tumanggap lang kami ng trabaho dahil may sari-sarili kaming pamilya at dahil dun, kung sumama man ang loob niya, humihingi kami ng pasensya. Pero kailangan naming magtrabaho dahil may buhay kami na sarili namin at alam ko one of these days, darating ang panahon na mag-aayos din kami at sana hindi na magkakagalit,” he said. (report from Rhea Manila P. Santos, Push.com.ph)
