In the chaotic, brutal, and deeply personal “Eat Bulaga!” civil war, the public has become accustomed to the noise. We have heard the “scorched-earth” allegations from Anjo Yllana, the 20-year “dabarkads” veteran who has, for months, waged a relentless “slander” campaign against his former patriarchs, Tito and Vic Sotto. We have heard the strategic, surgical “counter-attacks” from media titan Cristy Fermin. We have heard the emotional, next-generation “defense” from Jose Manalo.

But through it all, there was one voice conspicuously, and perhaps, powerfully, absent. It was the voice of the “old guard,” the “gentle giant” of the show, the man who, for nearly 40 years, was a pillar of the institution: Jimmy Santos.

His silence was, in itself, a statement. But now, that silence has been shattered.

A new, explosive report has just detonated, and its message is a “resbak” (counter-attack) that is, in many ways, the most devastating of all. “JIMMY SANTOS BINASAG ANG PANANAHIMIK!” (Jimmy Santos Breaks His Silence!). He has reportedly unleashed a furious, personal, and emotional broadside against Anjo Yllana, “counter-attacking” him for his vicious “paninira” (slander) against Tito Sotto and the “Eat Bulaga!” family.

This is not just another “voice” in the feud. This is the conscience of the show speaking. When a man as quiet, as loyal, and as beloved as Jimmy Santos decides to go to war, it means a sacred, unwritten line has been crossed. This is the story of how the “gentle giant” finally roared, and in doing so, may have delivered the final, moral “kill shot” to Anjo Yllana’s credibility.

For months, Yllana has been on a nihilistic “mission.” He did not just “disagree” with his former bosses; he attempted to destroy them. He accused Tito Sotto, a statesman and 50-year husband, of having “kabit” (mistresses) and a “secret child.” He attacked Vic Sotto, the beloved “Bossing,” by alleging a “secret relationship” with another former host.

He was, in effect, trying to burn down the entire 40-year-old “Eat Bulaga!” house. He was betting that his “insider” status gave him the credibility to do it.

What he fatally miscalculated was the “family” that still lived inside.

While Tito Sotto himself remained largely “statesmanlike” and silent, his “sons” and “allies” mobilized. Cristy Fermin reframed the entire war, alleging Yllana’s rage was not one of “principle,” but of “bitterness,” stemming from his own “utang” (debt), “kabit” (mistress), and “sindikato” (syndicate) ties. Jose Manalo, the “new guard” king, delivered an emotional defense of Sotto as a “father figure.”

But the “old guard,” the men who were there with Tito, Vic, and Joey (TVJ) in the trenches, had not yet been heard from.

Jimmy Santos’s “resbak” is different. It is not a “media” attack. It is not a “new generation” attack. It is an “old guard” attack. It is a “moral verdict” from a man who is Yllana’s “peer” in tenure, but his “superior” in loyalty.

Jimmy Santos is not a “star” in the modern sense. He is an “institution.” He is “It-bul.” He is the “Babalu” contemporary, the quiet, towering presence who was the “glue” in countless “Sugod Bahay” segments. He is, to the public, a man of simple values, of deep loyalty, and of a non-confrontational, gentle spirit.

For this man to be “galit” (angry), for this man to “break his silence,” it sends a message that is louder than any of Yllana’s “bombshells.” It is a message that what Anjo did was not just “politics”; it was wrong.

This is a war of “Utang na Loob” (Debt of Gratitude).

This is the “detail” that Jimmy Santos’s “resbak” is reportedly built on. He, like Yllana, was a “dabarkads” for decades. He, like Yllana, built his entire career, his entire livelihood, and his entire “name” under the protection, guidance, and generosity of the TVJ “family.”

In the Filipino cultural code, this creates a “debt of gratitude” that is sacred. It is a “family” bond, stronger than any corporate contract.

What Anjo Yllana did, in the eyes of the “old guard,” was the ultimate sin. He did not just “leave” the family; he turned around and tried to “murder” the father.

Jimmy Santos’s “resbak” is the voice of that “old guard” code of honor. It is a “condemnation” of Yllana’s betrayal. It is him, as a respected “elder” of the “Eat Bulaga!” family, publicly disowning a “brother” who has brought “shame” to their house.

This “resbak” is not just a “defense” of Tito Sotto. It is an “attack” on Anjo Yllana’s character. It implicitly validates the “exposés” from Cristy Fermin. It paints Yllana as a man with no “utang na loob,” no “honor,” and no “loyalty.”

This is, in effect, the “family” closing ranks.

Yllana’s entire strategy was based on a “divide and conquer” tactic. He hoped his attacks on Tito would “isolate” him, that the public would “turn” on him, that his own “family” would see him as a “liability.”

He was catastrophically wrong.

His attacks did the opposite. They did not “divide” the “Eat Bulaga!” family; they “unified” it. They “activated” every loyal soldier, from the “new” (Jose Manalo) to the “old” (Jimmy Santos). They proved that the “family” that TVJ built was not a “corporate” one; it was a real one.

This is the final, tragic “nail in the coffin” of Anjo Yllana’s “war.” He is not just fighting Tito Sotto, a politician. He is not just fighting Cristy Fermin, a media titan. He is now fighting Jimmy Santos, a beloved cultural icon.

He is fighting the memory and the soul of “Eat Bulaga!” itself.

The “gentle giant” has spoken. His “resbak” is not loud because of its “volume”; it is loud because of its “weight.” It is the weight of 40 years of loyalty, 40 years of “family,” 40 years of “utang na loob.” And it is a weight that has just, in one final, definitive move, “crushed” Anjo Yllana’s entire campaign.