Working for the DOH

Last Saturday, I was drafted to work for the DOH — not the Department of Health but the Department of Help on Channel 7’s "Eat Bulaga."

Miriam Quiambao, Anthony Suntay, and I were on a panel assembled as a kind of "lifeline" to assist Purefoods cager Jolly Escobar in his quest for P500,000 in the "Korek Ka D’yan" game portion of the TV program.

Under contest rules, the person on the spot is given up to three chances to call on the DOH panel for "advice" in answering a multiple choice quiz question. Each member of the panel answers the question then the contestant decides to take the "advice" or not.

My only previous participation in a game show was on Channel 13’s "Fastbreak" which was hosted by Ogie Alcasid and Amanda Page a few years ago. I remember taking part on the show with Noli Eala and Chino Trinidad. Guest players when we appeared were Danny Ildefonso, Dwight Lago and Mike Mustre. The game show featured both a quiz and shooting contest. Noli and Dwight teamed up to win the top prize. The consolation was Noli — bless him — graciously shared the cash pot of P25,000.

I got to Broadway Centrum — where "Eat Bulaga" airs before a live audience — about 12:15 p.m. and was led backstage. Vic Sotto, Joey de Leon, and Andrew E were there. They’re all regular guys and big hoop fans. Joey asked if Anthony and I would cover the National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals this year. Well, we didn’t go last season. We also saw Patricia Javier backstage no, we didn’t say hi.

Then, Anthony and I were brought to the dressing room where guys and dolls barged in and out to fix their make-up or adjust their costumes. The talent coordinator Odyssey took care of us from start to finish. Jolly joined us in the dressing room with the other contestant, Barangay Ginebra’s Wilmer Ong.

Jolly and Wilmer made it to the finals after topping the elims among their teammates. Jolly said he would’ve wanted Alvin Patrimonio to advance but the breaks went his way instead. It came down to a single question in the Purefoods qualifiers — who was Batman’s adversary? Among the four choices, Jolly picked the right one — The Penguin.

Both Jolly and Wilmer were nervous. So were Anthony and I. We were told the third DOH panelist was Miriam and we would meet her on the set.

Wilmer said he was on the internet the night before brushing up on trivia. Jolly said he was playing for his teammates because they would all share in his winnings. I saw them reviewing two sheets of paper — one listing what the currency is called in about 20 countries (like franc for Switzerland and yen for Japan) and the other, the names of the secretaries in President Arroyo’s cabinet.

"We’re out to win," said Jolly. Wilmer — who came with his wife and pretty four-year-old daughter — concurred. Wilmer was excused from Ginebra practice that day.

Jolly and Wilmer were called to the set about 30 minutes before we were. They squared off for the right to play in the P500,000 quest. Host Vic Sotto fired questions at the pair and the quicker to press the buzzer had first crack at the answer. A question was — who was known as El Presidente in the PBA (Ramon Fernandez, replied Jolly).

Jolly eventually beat Wilmer and took his spot on the hot seat for a chance to pocket P500,000. That was when Anthony and I walked in. We were joined by Miriam.

Jolly was on edge. Couldn’t blame him. His first question was — what is 6-2 in inches? Jolly drew a blank and called for help. Anthony, Miriam and I answered 74 inches. Jolly took our word for it. Correct. One lifeline chance down.

The next question was tough. If Neil Armstrong was the first man on the moon, who was the second? The choices were Michael Collins, Yuri Gagarin, John Glenn and Edwin Aldrin, Jr. Jolly again called for help. This time, we were stumped. The only Collins I knew was Phil. Yuri was a Russian cosmonaut who orbited the earth but never landed on the moon. Glenn was a US senator, astronaut and a popular figure in space history books. His name rang a bell in my mind. Aldrin? I couldn’t place him. So I answered Glenn but said I wasn’t sure. Anthony took a chance on Aldrin and so did Miriam. So it was 2-1 for Aldrin. Luckily, Jolly didn’t take my advice. He picked Aldrin. Correct. Second lifeline chance down.

For the record, Armstrong and Aldrin were on the same Apollo 11 lunar module "Eagle" that landed on the moon in 1969. Collins was the control module pilot on the mission. Armstrong got down first then Aldrin. Collins stayed in lunar orbit.

Jolly didn’t need to call for help in his next two questions. What is known as the court of last resort? Jolly replied the Supreme Court. Who is The Terminator in the movies? Arnold Schwazenegger, answered Jolly. He was on the way to the big prize.

The next question was — where is the Venus de Milo? The choices were Greece, France, Italy and Germany. Jolly called for help, his third and last lifeline. Miriam said she visited the Louvre two years ago and saw the Venus de Milo in Paris. No argument there. Anthony and I agreed. So did Jolly. Correct. Third and last lifeline chance down.

With our work over, Jolly was lifelineless. Vic threw the next question — good for P50,000. What is the hormone in the thyroid gland? Jolly admitted he didn’t know. He took a wild guess — thyroxine. Korek ka d’yan, bellowed Vic, as the audience broke into applause. We on the DOH panel were ecstatic.

Then came the backbreaker worth P100,000. To whom did President Nixon resign? The choices were the People of America, the Vice President, the Senate President, and the Secretary of State. Miriam, Anthony, and I conferred quietly. It couldn’t be the people because that wouldn’t be official. A resignation had to be formal. It couldn’t be the Vice President because he was elected with the President under the US system. It couldn’t be the Secretary of State because he was appointed by the President and not an elected official — or so we thought. So maybe it was the Senate President. Jolly had used up his three chances for DOH advice so he was on his own.

Jolly initially picked the People of America. He later changed it to the Senate President. Wrong. Vic said the correct answer is the Secretary of State. Oh, well. Jolly took home P50,000.

After the contest, I hugged "Eat Bulaga" executive producer Tony Tuviera whom I hadn’t seen in ages. Tony was once involved in the PBA telecast. It was like a reunion. Tony’s slimmer and looking younger.

The next day, at the PBA opening, I couldn’t believe how many friends walked up to say they watched us on "Eat Bulaga." It was some kind of experience, working for the DOH.