Laugh out louder with new Bulilit members

MANILA, Philippines - Are you gloomy or feel- ing blue? Whatever sadness ails you, laughter is the best medicine. And one large ge- neric pill is Goin’ Bulilit (GB). A dose of the ABS-CBN kid- die gag show will definitely make you laugh out loud and cure that forlorn feeling inside you.

But wait, a stronger dosage will be given starting tonight as nine new “components” are added for “fast relief.” They are Aaliyah Belmoro, Allyson McBride, Ashley Sarmiento, Jillian Aguila, Kazumi Porquez, JB Agustin, Aldred Nasayao, CX Navarro and Lance Lucido.

The STAR and other members of the entertain- ment press were the first to sample and experience the instant effect of the kids as they sent everyone in stitches during the press con. They even turned the table on us as they threw their “controversial” ques- tions one by one. Take this one from Lance, “Dahil nag-out na si Charice, may kilala pa ba kayong artista na gusto din mag-out?” Though a bit surprised, Ethel Ramos gamely answered, “Marami; sa inyo lang may mga posible na,” and made everyone burst into a hearty laughter.

Next came from five-year- old Aaliyah, “Who is cuter, me or Kiray?” A delighted Rommel Placente answered, “Syempre ikaw, kaya ka nga napili dito.” As if it didn’t satisfy Aaliyah, she fired an- other, “How about between me and Ryzza (Mae Dizon)?” to which he again replied, “Ikaw pa rin!” Then Aaliyah proceeded to do the cha-cha Ryzza Mae-style with an ex- aggerated facial expression.

It was Aldred who sound- ed controversial when he wondered aloud, “Makaka- balik pa ba si Willie sa ABS (-CBN)?” Guess who was most fitting to give light to the question that got every- one interested? None other than ABS-CBN exec Linggit Tan who, in a serious tone, replied, “As of the moment, hindi po kasi mababa ang rat- ings n’ya sa survey (for TV show). Ngayon hindi po... nagsabi na po si Charo Santos (-Concio) at si Gabby Lopez na di kukunin si Willie.”

So that ends all specula- tions but not the happy mood with the GB kids. Besides, the new talents, Bugoy Cariño, Mutya Orquia, Clarence Delgado, Joshen Bernardo, Harvey Bautista, Barbie Sabino, Carl Camo, Miguel de Guzman and Belinda Mariano were among those who shared a fun afternoon with us.

Also present was director Frasco Mortiz who, according to him, the new cast mem- bers were selected from the 3,500 kids who auditioned in the hope of taking the place vacated by cast members who graduated during the show’s eighth anniversary last February. Only 25 were chosen from the auditions. Then, they underwent me- ticulous workshops. Fifteen kids didn’t make it until the number was narrowed down to nine.

“Compared to the previ- ous ones, this batch is a fast learner; they easily pick up and absorb whatever they are asked to do,” said direk Frasco of the kids.

It was his dad, director Edgar “Bobot” Mortiz, who had the last say in the selec- tion process. “The kids have different personalities but my dad has this innate talent of discerning who among them has the potential; he knows who among them will click best with the viewers.”

How does he handle the kids now totaling to 22 plus Dagul who remains to be “indispensable”?

“As a director, I can say that I’ve already come across all types of kakulitan. Prob- ably, we have become used to handling them because we’ve been doing this for eight years. Handling the new ones is like going back to step one like we will again feed them their dialogues line per line including the way and tone of delivering them. Sanayan lang talaga.”

And there are times the production team has to control their playfulness. “That’s because it’s normal to kids their age. There are even times that when everything is all set to do the first take, suddenly one of them will run, nag-lalaro pa rin.”

To make the task easier, direk Frasco treats them as his own kids. “Most of them are five years old and I also have a child of their age so parang anak ko sila na five times ang kakulitan.”

But the hard work pays off as the show continues to en- joy good ratings. It is dubbed as the longest running kiddie gag show on TV. “The show has been on-air for eight years now and we hope that you continue supporting us for more years to come.”

(Goin’ Bulilit airs Sunday nights after TV Patrol Week- end.)