Eat Bulaga! host Joey de Leon has spoken after a couple got caught allegedly cheating during the Pinoy Henyo segment.
The couple’s win was shared as an article on GMA Network’s Twitter and got deleted [immediately], thereafter.
In the Kapuso noontime’s succeeding episode, host de Leon briefly discussed cheating during games without mentioning the couple’s names.
“Simulan na natin ang pautakan. Pero unahin na natin ang warning na ‘to,” he began.
“Sa isang laro, ano ang ginagawa mo para mawala yung saya o yung fun?” he threw the question.
He emphasized that cheating takes the fun out of the game.
‼️Bawal Judgmental at Bawal din ang Mandaya‼️ pic.twitter.com/WKddVCoZHb
— Eat Bulaga! (@EatBulaga) February 17, 2023
“Kaya inuulit natin, totoo ‘yan, kahit anong laro pa ‘yan, kapag nandaya kayo, wala ng fun.
“Totoo nga, yung fun-daraya, may fun. Pero hindi dapat, no cheating, diretso tingin.”
During the Valentine’s Day episode of the noontime show, a couple named Lyka and Ryan participated in this segment, with the male partner in charge of asking questions and the female partner responsible for providing hints to the word to that needs guessing.
There were allegations of cheating made against the couple by online users during the game. Some viewers stated that Lyka appeared to be glancing at the hosts before indicating the correct answer, “stomach,” which Ryan correctly guessed.
Lyka got spotted mouthing the word stomach repeatedly without any sound. Ultimately, Ryan lipread her correctly and guessed “stomach.”
As a result, some people on the Internet doubted their win. However, the couple received P20,000 in prize money and progressed directly to the jackpot round.
What a shame. National television ka pa nandaya ate
PINOY HENYO CHEATER pic.twitter.com/6ISzRGP2wk
— aly (@vie_rosex_x) February 14, 2023
https://twitter.com/wesxtres/status/1625821787656429568?s=20
Ghurl nakalimutan mo ata na nasa tv ka at may mga camera na nakatutok sa inyo. Na huli ka tuloy ni camera man nag cheat ka sa pinoy henyo.gulat ka pa sa tamang sagot nang kasama mo😂
— kristinSuson ୧⍤⃝🐣 ୧⍤⃝🌽୧⍤⃝🌭୧⍤⃝🍢୧⍤⃝🍓 (@kristinSuson) February 15, 2023
https://twitter.com/ImmaBrox/status/1625675447605542912?s=20
huyyyyyy yunh sa pinoy henyo!!!!
— zia ♡ (@colee_yz) February 15, 2023
Since its introduction in 2004, Pinoy Henyo has become a well-liked parlor game for Filipinos. It is also one of the most famous segments of Eat Bulaga.
Due to the many editions of the game that got played over the years, it has become a defining segment of Eat Bulaga and is now considered a part of the show’s identity, known as “Tatak Eat Bulaga!”
De Leon has dubbed the segment the “pambansang laro ng bayan” or the country’s national game, due to its immense popularity as a parlor game in the Philippines.
Three couples usually participate in the daily elimination round, and the game’s primary aim is to guess the word accurately within two minutes or less.
The partner who is not guessing the word can only reply with “yes,” “no,” or “maybe,” while the player who gets to guess the word must ask a series of increasingly specific deductive questions.