Willie Revillame (born Wilfredo Buendia Revillame, January 27, 1961), is a Filipino actor and tv host. He is currently the host of ABS-CBN's noontime variety show Wowowee.
Controversy hounded Revillame once more on the August 3, 2009 episode of Wowowee. In the show's Willie of Fortune game segment, he spoke out against the insertion of a live broadcast on the transfer of the late President Cory Aquino's remains from La Salle Greenhills to the Manila Cathedral during the taping. He suddenly said that he could not make people happy while the entire country was mourning the former president's passing. The Alliance of Filipino Journalists immediately denounced his remarks as a sign of disrespect towards Aquino. Revillame insisted that he had no intention of defaming the former president and her family. The Aquino family accepted his apology , but Revillame stressed that he would step down from Wowowee if he was truly wrong about his remarks. On August 10, ABS-CBN announced that Willie went on an indefinite leave.
ABS-CBN senior executive Cory Vidanes said the network supported Revillame's action, claiming that his outburst did not run afoul of the Broadcast Code of the Philippines. Network entertainment official Johnny Manahan said Revillame was correct in saying that the footage should not have been inserted, but the way he delivered it before the camera was wrong.
To know more about Willie Revillame, visit www.willierevillame.org.
