For months, the battle for the Eat Bulaga legacy has been a public, painful, and deeply complex affair. It has been a war fought in courtrooms over trademarks and in television studios over ratings. It was a corporate divorce, a “schism” that split the nation’s longest-running, most beloved “happy family” in two. On one side, the iconic trio of Tito Sotto, Vic Sotto, and Joey de Leon (TVJ). On the other, their former producers, TAPE Inc.

In this war, the hosts who remained with TAPE Inc. on the original show—figures like Jose Manalo, Paolo Ballesteros, and the show’s “golden girl,” Maine Mendoza—were seen as either “loyal employees” or “traitors,” depending on which side of the battle line you stood.

But now, a new, infinitely more devastating bomb has been dropped. A “shocking” new report has surfaced, and it has taken this corporate war and turned it into a dark, personal, and tragic family feud. This new allegation is not just another attack; it is a “kill shot” aimed at the very heart of the Sotto dynasty, and it has, in the most unbelievable twist yet, dragged Maine Mendoza directly into the line of fire.

The new, explosive report, which has gone viral, makes two stunning claims.

The first is a massive escalation of the “secret” from Tito Sotto’s past. For weeks, former host Anjo Yllana, now a fierce critic of TVJ, has been threatening a “Box Reveal” to expose Sotto’s “indiscretions.” This threat was largely defanged when Sotto’s own daughter, Ciara, bravely admitted her father had made a “past mistake” that “hurt” the family but had been forgiven.

This new report, however, scoffs at the “singular mistake.” It alleges something far more systemic: that Tito Sotto has a “secret child” not just with one woman, but with two.

This is the bombshell. This allegation reframes Sotto’s past not as a “mistake,” but as a “pattern,” a “secret life” that ran parallel to his public “family man” image. It is an allegation designed to do one thing: completely destroy the moral high ground and “family values” brand upon which the entire TVJ legacy is built.

But it is the second claim of the report that has left the public truly speechless. The “Box Reveal,” the “evidence” of these alleged secret families, is no longer being attributed to the rabble-rousing Anjo Yllana.

The new report claims the “Box Reveal” is tied to Maine Mendoza.

This is the twist that is almost too diabolical to comprehend. Maine Mendoza, the “Pambansang Bae,” the quiet, universally loved host who has, for the entirety of this war, remained a neutral “Switzerland” of sorts. She has not engaged in the mudslinging. She has simply, quietly, gone to work.

This new report shatters that neutrality. It takes the show’s most beloved current star and pits her directly against the show’s most iconic founding father. It is a narrative of the ultimate, heartbreaking betrayal: the “anak-anakan” (adopted child) turning on the “ama” (father).

The “why” of this allegation is where the true, dark genius of this rumor lies. By linking Maine to this “Box Reveal,” the report has created a no-win situation for her and has successfully ignited a civil war within the Eat Bulaga fanbase.

For the loyalists of TVJ, this report is “proof” of their worst fears: that Maine is a “traitor,” an “ahas” (snake). They see this as an ungrateful child, a star who they created, now “backstabbing” the very men who gave her a platform. The narrative is that she stayed with TAPE Inc. and is now being used as the “weapon” to deliver the final, fatal blow to Tito Sotto’s reputation. The vitriol being aimed at Maine from this camp is palpable.

On the other side, the defenders of Maine and the current Eat Bulaga are seeing this for what it likely is: a malicious, fabricated piece of “black propaganda.” This, they claim, is a “fake news” attack against Maine. It is designed to punish her for not joining the TVJ “exodus.” It is an attempt to “smoke her out,” to force her to break her silence and pick a side. It is a way of “weaponizing” her fame, of dragging her into the mud so that she can no longer be seen as the “innocent” one.

Either way, Maine Mendoza is trapped.

If she issues a statement denying any involvement, the TVJ loyalists will claim she is “lying” or “caving” to pressure. If she says nothing, she allows the perception of her “betrayal” to fester. Her silence is, for the first time, being read as “guilt.”

This is the true, ugly cost of this war. The corporate battle was about money and trademarks. This new, personal battle is about the complete and total destruction of a “family.” The “Dabarkads,” a group that for 40 years preached “isang libo’t isang tuwa” (one thousand and one joys), is now a public spectacle of backstabbing, betrayal, and emotional carnage.

And what of the allegation itself? The “secret children with two women” is a devastating blow. Tito Sotto’s entire political and professional brand rests on his image as a devout Catholic and a staunch “family man.” His wife, Helen Gamboa, is a revered figure, a matriarch who has stood by him with a quiet, regal grace. This new report does not just disrespect Tito; it is a profound, public humiliation for Helen Gamboa, forcing her, and her children, to relive a private pain that has now, allegedly, doubled.

It forces the public to ask a question that was, just weeks ago, unthinkable: Was the “happy family” of Eat Bulaga a lie?

The source of this rumor, whether it is Anjo Yllana, a rival camp, or a “Marites” with a dark imagination, has succeeded in one thing: they have changed the conversation. This is no longer about who owns Eat Bulaga. This is about who destroyed it.

By linking Maine Mendoza to the “Box Reveal,” the rumor has created the perfect, tragic narrative. It is a story of a “father” (Tito) with a dark secret, and a “daughter” (Maine) who allegedly holds the knife.

The truth, at this point, seems almost secondary. The damage is done. The “shocking” report has achieved its goal: it has taken the last remaining symbol of Eat Bulaga’s innocence, Maine Mendoza, and has placed her at the center of its ugliest, most personal, and most heartbreaking scandal.