For months, the saga surrounding Eat Bulaga has been a corporate one, a battle of trademarks, broadcast rights, and boardroom betrayals between its iconic founders, Tito Sotto, Vic Sotto, and Joey de Leon (TVJ), and the show’s producers, TAPE Inc. But now, the curtain has been pulled back on an entirely new front, one that is arguably more personal, more painful, and more shocking. The latest revelations are not coming from a press conference, but from one of the show’s own beloved veterans, Anjo Yllana.

In a stunning and emotional testimonial that has sent shockwaves through the fan community, Yllana has broken his silence, not to discuss TAPE Inc., but to point his finger directly at a fellow host: Jose Manalo. The accusations are severe, painting a picture of a toxic backstage environment, personal betrayals, and a “warning” aimed directly at the legends he once worked beside, Vic Sotto and Joey de Leon.

The core of Yllana’s grievance is his staggering claim that Jose Manalo possesses the “worst attitude” (“pinakamasamang ugali”) among the Eat Bulaga hosts. He alleges that Manalo’s demeanor changes drastically when “Bossing” Vic Sotto is not present, describing him as “napakayabang,” or incredibly arrogant. This alone is a bombshell, but it is merely the opening salvo for a much more personal and damaging story.

Yllana then details a deeply personal conflict from his past. He reveals that after separating from his wife, he was in a committed, one-year live-in relationship with a woman who was a dancer on the show. This relationship, he claims, was sabotaged from within. According to Yllana, Jose Manalo confronted the woman, scolding her for being with a married man and pressuring her to end the relationship immediately.

The twist, however, is what Yllana alleges happened next. He claims this was not a moral intervention, but a calculated move. Yllana accuses Manalo of “inahas,” a powerful Filipino term for “stealing like a snake,” his girlfriend. He alleges that Manalo’s entire motive for breaking them up was so that Manalo could pursue the woman himself. To add weight to his claim, Yllana points out that this very woman is now Jose Manalo’s current partner and the mother of his children.

The feeling of betrayal is palpable in Yllana’s story. But he doesn’t stop at personal grievances. He escalates his claims to a professional level, accusing Manalo of being part of a “sindikato” (syndicate) within the show’s ranks. He describes a backstage culture where Manalo would allegedly “whisper” to the bosses, influencing them about who to “ruin” (“sisiraan”) or “remove” (“tatanggalin”) from the program. Yllana firmly believes that he was one of the victims of this internal political maneuvering, orchestrated by Manalo.

This leads to the most critical part of his revelation: the “warning” to Vic Sotto and Joey de Leon. The final straw for Yllana appears to be a song lyric. He claims that a well-known Eat Bulaga song, which originally contained the line, “Si Anjo Yllana mukhang may pagtingin” (Anjo Yllana seems to have a crush), was suddenly and pointedly changed. The new lyric, he states, is now, “Si Jose Manalo mukhang may pagtingin.”

For Yllana, this was not a harmless joke. It was a public and humiliating erasure of his legacy, a final twist of the knife allegedly orchestrated by Manalo. And what makes it a “warning” is who he saw in the audience. “Pareng Joey, Pareng Vic,” he addresses them directly in his video, “I noticed you were laughing and laughing.” He saw their amusement not as innocent fun, but as them being complicit in his mockery.

His warning is clear and tinged with sadness: “It’s okay for you to laugh, but don’t ruin me.” It is the plea of a man who feels abandoned by the very icons he worked alongside for years, begging them not to participate in what he sees as a campaign to destroy his reputation.

Yllana’s claims, while explosive, are just one side of the story. However, his accusations about Manalo’s attitude have found unexpected corroboration from a prominent vlogger and self-proclaimed “TBJ defender,” Jay Guevarra TV, who hosted the video where Yllana’s clips were played.

Guevarra, who says he was a frequent visitor to the Eat Bulaga studio, shares his own firsthand experiences. He echoes the sentiment about Manalo’s demeanor, calling him “sobrang suplado” (extremely snobbish). Guevarra recounts numerous attempts to simply greet or get a photo with Manalo, all of which were allegedly met with a cold shoulder. He says Manalo “never” acknowledged him, simply walking away.

This vlogger’s testimony is made more powerful by the stark contrast he draws with the other hosts. He names Wally Bayola as the “number one kindest” host, recounting a time when Wally personally approached him to thank him for supporting TVJ. He describes Paolo Ballesteros and Joey de Leon as similarly warm, approachable, and without any “star” attitude. This side-by-side comparison paints a damning picture, lending weight to the idea that the “snobbish” behavior is not universal, but specific.

Guevarra even shares an anecdote from his uncle, who allegedly auditioned for a dance contest on the show years ago when Jose Manalo was just a floor manager. He claims Manalo bluntly told the group, “Your opponents are too good. You won’t win. You should just go home.”

But the vlogger is not just a critic; he is a fan. This brings us to the “Box Reveal” from the video’s clickbait title. It is not a box of secrets, but something far more symbolic. Near the end of his stream, to prove his long-standing loyalty, Guevarra retrieves a “box” (his closet) and pulls out a prized possession: a T-shirt personally signed by all three original hosts—Tito Sotto, Vic Sotto, and Joey de Leon.

He shares that the shirt was a personal gift from Joey de Leon. He holds it up to the camera, a tangible piece of his history as a “defender.” This reveal is the emotional climax. It symbolizes the vlogger’s—and perhaps the public’s—deeply complicated relationship with the show. He cherishes this relic from his “idols,” even as he now finds himself airing grievances about Manalo’s attitude and openly criticizing Tito Sotto’s political career, which he separates entirely from his role as an entertainer.

Anjo Yllana’s revelations have opened a new and deeply unsettling chapter in this ongoing drama. The battle is no longer a simple black-and-white dispute over a brand. It has become a complex, human story of alleged personal betrayals, toxic workplace politics, and fractured friendships. The laughter from Vic Sotto and Joey de Leon, once a source of national comfort, is now being questioned. Was it a harmless laugh, or a sign of complicity in a co-host’s humiliation?

As the public tries to reconcile the “idol” and the “accused,” one thing is clear: the simple, happy family we all watched for decades may have been masking a far more painful and complicated reality.