Michael V: Tackling politics is inevitable in comedy
As much as he dislikes politics, Michael V admitted that it’s inevitable to touch on the subject in comedy.
During a recent interview with the Kapuso comedy master — also known as the face and brains of the country’s two most enduring comedy shows “Bubble Gang” and “Pepito Manaloto” — he countered the observation that he hardly tackles political issues in his brand of humor.
“Meron. Sometimes, it goes viral — the recent one went viral,” he said when asked about it. “Parang yung political dynasty namin. Tapos palaging sinasabi namin, ‘O, ano lang ‘to ha, ‘Bubble Gang’ lang ‘to, joke lang ‘to ha. Hindi naman totoo ‘to.’ Di ba palagi naming nasabi? Hindi pwedeng hindi ma-touch yung politics. As much as I hate — no, dislike — politics myself, it’s inevitable.”
Michael V noted that sometimes, even jokes and skits that have nothing to do with politics get connected to real-life political issues and personalities.
“Minsan nga wala tayong ginagawa, bigla nalang tayong ididikit or idu-duet tayo kay BBM (Pres. Bongbong Marcos on TikTok), like that subway system. At saka yung bago ni BBM na ‘Sumbong sa Pangulo,’ dapat daw ibalik yung ‘Sumbong sumbong kay Bonggang Bongbong,’ ‘di ba?” he said, referring to the well-loved “Bubble Gang” segment that spoofed investigative programs and aired at various seasons from 2008 to 2023.
“Na-pre date namin ito several years (ago) yung ginagawa ng pangulo ngayon. But it’s entertaining and at the same time, creepy,” he said with a laugh.
For Michael V, comedy does offer a space for expression and allows creative license, but it still comes with responsibility.
“I would think that it’s a hall pass, like a VIP pass na meron ang mga comedians. Because once you do comedy, once you turn everything into comedy, supposedly okay lang yan na parang huwag ka mapipikon, joke lang ito ‘di ba? And we’ve been at this for a long time. We’ve been doing this for 30 years now, ‘pag napikon ka pa, talagang pikon ka, parang ganun,” he said.
“But we still hold ourselves responsible for making those kinds of sketches. Hindi kami basta-basta magsusulat ng alam naming makaka-offend. We have our own censorship. And if may ma-offend man, maging negative man sa appearance sa ibang tao, it’s because of the other influencers na nagsasabing hindi, ganito ang ibig sabihin. Kanya-kanya naman interpretation.”
Beyond politics, Michael V said the production draws heavily from real life for his shows, where he also serves as creative director.
He explained, “‘Bubble Gang’ and ‘Pepito Manaloto,’ for that matter, they’re like a mirror of society. So, with ‘Bubble Gang,’ whatever you see that’s trending on social media, the things going viral, even the news that you watch, those are what we often tackle. With ‘Pepito Manaloto,’ it’s more personal actually. Because this is about the real stories of real people.”
“The script comes from the ideas thrown by the writers, staff, actors and our bosses whenever we have meetings. Both mirror society, real life, I think that’s the secret.”
Michael V, nevertheless, acknowledged that the changing times have given comedy these days its own set of challenges.
“It’s really hard to be a comedian today because of restrictions and sa pagiging sensitive ng mga tao,” he said during the interview.
“Ang mahirap nga ngayon, pinapatahimik yung mga may utak para hindi ma-offend yung mga walang utak (laughs).
“Talagang ganun eh. We have to face that. My plan always — my main plan is to work around it. Ano man yung existing that is hard to do and hard to break, we will find a way and get around it. And find the fine line and touch it, but never cross it.”
The STAR was able to speak to Michael V, also fondly called as Bitoy in the industry, at his contract renewal early this week with home network GMA.
Joining Michael V. at the contract signing event were GMA Network president and chief executive officer Gilberto Duavit Jr., executive vice president and chief financial officer Felipe Yalong, and officer-in-charge for the Entertainment Group and vice president for Drama Cheryl Ching-Sy. Also present was Bitoy’s wife and manager, Carolina Bunagan.
GMA chairman Felipe Gozon expressed his gratitude to Bitoy for the continued partnership through a video message: “I want you to know that getting you to join Bubble Gang in 1995 was one of the best decisions that GMA Network has ever made. Your meticulous and passionate approach to comedy is an inspiration to many comedians, producers, directors and writers.”
A grateful Michael V, for his part, credited the Kapuso station for giving him the “freedom to spread my wings.”
“Those 30 years (with GMA) have been very fruitful. It gave me the opportunity to learn from GMA and I was also able to see the growth of the network. Magkatuwang talaga kami. GMA has been a huge help for my career and it gave me the freedom to spread my wings. I think 30 years is not enough, kailangan pang dagdagan (it needs to be extended).”
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