Happy Yipee Yehey is going on a series of out-of-town shows to get even closer to kapamilyas everywhere, making its first stop in Lingayen. HYY joined the capital city of Pangasinan in its celebration of the Pistay Dayat Festival (or Sea Festival) last April 30 with a special presentation at the Capitol Hotel compound overlooking the Lingayen Gulf. Hundreds of Pangasinan locals arrived early at the location to be first in line to see the show, this despite the scorching summer heat.Prior to the April 30 show, hosts Randy Santiago, Mariel Rodriguez, Bianca Manalo, Matteo Guidicelli, and Bentong met with Manila and Pangasinan-based reporters in a luncheon press conference to talk about HYY’s first remote presentation. John Estrada and Toni Gonzaga arrived hours later to join the rest of the HYY barkada in a motorcade around Lingayen and neighboring Dagupan City and Binmaley.
During the press conference, Randy explained why they chose Lingayen as first stop in HYY’s series of out-of-town shows. “Madalas na kasing nabibisita ‘yung mga probinsya sa Visayas and Mindanao. So for the start of HYY’s series of out-of-town shows napili naming pumunta sa Lingayen para magsimula kami sa Northern Luzon. Nagpapasalamat naman kami sa local government of Lingayen at sa lahat ng Pangasinense sa mainit na pagtanggap ninyo sa amin. Hopefully matuloy ‘yung pinaplanong susunod na show sa Palawan sana this June.”
He also related his admiration for the province’s famous delicacy. “Ang pinupuntahan naman talaga ng mga turista dito sa Pangasinan e ‘yung mga masasarap na isda, lalo na ‘yung bangus. Kaya nga may kanya kanya na kaming dalang mga cooler, ha ha ha!”
Bianca, on the other hand, named her favorite sweet popularly made in Pangasinan. “Masarap talaga ‘yung tupig. ‘Yun ‘yung parang niyog na binalot sa dahon ng saging. Gustong gusto ko ‘yun.” Meanwhile, Mariel hoped the visit would give her the chance to go back to one renowned tourist spot in the province. “Noon sa Pinoy Big Brother nakapunta na kami sa Hundred Islands. Sobrang ganda talaga dun.”
Members of the press also asked the hosts to clarify the issue regarding competition with noontime show on the other TV networks. Was the Lingayen stopover the beginning of HYY’s plan to win more viewers and in the end get ahead in the TV ratings? Randy, the most senior noontime show host among the group, answered, “When I started in the business back in 1987, dumaan na ako sa Lunch Date, and sa SST, dumating na rin ang APO, and I was part of MTB, then dumating nga ang Wowowee. Nakakatuwa sa ABS-CBN na kami ang napagkatiwalaan na humawak sa noontime slot. Nagpapasalamat kami sa pagkakataon. Hindi naman siguro kami pinili para tapatan talaga ‘yung programa sa kabila. Ang gusto talaga ng network ay makapagpasaya sa lahat ng Pilipino. Hindi kami nagmamadaling matalo ‘yung kabila.”
Randy also announced during the press conference that on May 7, comedian Pokwang will be joining the HYY family. Mariel, who is a close friend of Pokwang from the two previous noontime shows, reacted on the speculation that the reason the comedian was brought in was to boost the ratings of HYY. “Aaminin ko talagang malaki ang sayang maidadagdag ni Pokwang. Kahit hindi hater alam naman ‘yun. She’s a performer. She’s born to do a noontime show. Ibang klase ang energy level niya. She’s a comedian na iba ‘yung bilis mag isip, ‘yung spontaneity.”
