Willie Revillame: I'm still with Wowowee

Breaking his silence, television host-on-leave Willie Revillame said he has not yet left ABS-CBN's noontime show "Wowowee" although the date of his return is still unsure. "Hindi pa naman ako umalis. Malalaman ng lahat kung ano ang desisyon ko. May panahon para diyan, may takdang panahon para diyan," Revillame told showbiz talk show host Cristy Fermin in a taped interview aired Sunday afternoon at TV-5’s "Paparazzi." (I haven't left the show. My decision will be known at the right time. There's a right time for that.) Revillame, whose appeal to the masses has been short of phenomenal, has been on leave from "Wowowee" since May 5 in connection with his feud with "The Buzz" segment host Jobert Sucaldito. His leave of absence started a day after he threatened to resign from the network if it wouldn’t fire Sucaldito, who supposedly criticized "Wowowee" for having students with 75 to 79 average grades as guests. Fire him or I resign "Nananawagan po ako sa management ng ABS[-CBN]. Huwag niyo naman hong payagan na tinitira ‘yung show natin. Ang laki ng kita ng 'Wowowee' para sa ABS. Mamimili na kayo. ‘Pag hindi ninyo 'yan tinanggal ako ang magre-resign dito sa 'Wowowee,'" Revillame said on his program. (My appeal to the management of ABS-CBN is for them not to allow this kind of criticism against the show. The show has earned a lot for the network. If they will not fire Sucaldito then I will resign.) Sucaldito, also a tabloid columnist, said he wasn't personally attacking Revillame and that he only wanted the show to have smarter students as guests to set a good exampleto its viewers. Willie vs haters On Sunday during the "Paparazzi" interview, Revillame declined to discuss his spat with Sucaldito. He added that he did not mind the criticisms against him online, especially on social networking site Twitter and video-sharing site YouTube. A Facebook page titled “Let Willie Resign [From] ABS-CBN" has gained 239,597 fans as of Sunday afternoon. Revillame also said his leave from his hosting duties had nothing to do with Sen. Manny Villar Jr., a presidential candidate whose candidacy Revillame had openly endorsed. ABS-CBN star Kris Aquino, a prized talent of the network, is the sister of Sen. Benigno “Noynoy" Aquino III, Villar’s rival for the presidency. Kris is also Sucaldito's co-host in "The Buzz." ABS-CBN had repeatedly fended off insinuations that it was favoring Aquino among the nine presidential candidates. Revillame, during the interview, urged the public to support Aquino, who continues to lead the presidential race as of Sunday afternoon. “Magsama-sama at magtulung-tulungan tayo. Tsaka binoto si Senator Noynoy ng sambayanan (Let us join and help each other. Senator Noynoy was voted by the people)," he said. — KBK, GMANews.TV