Ten years since its last broadcast in 2016, one of ABS-CBN Studios’ most loved game shows has finally made its much-awaited comeback—“Kapamilya Deal or No Deal”—with Luis Manzano reprising his role as host.
For its inaugural episode on April 25, two of the most important women in his life stepped in as players and tried their luck in winning the P1 million jackpot- his beloved wife Jessy Mendiola and his mother, Batangas Governor Vilma Santos-Recto.
But before they came out, Luis asked “lucky star” and OG Sexbomb member Jopay Paguia for a birthday message, to which she enthusiastically obliged and even led the other lucky stars into singing the special birthday song they’d prepared for him. They ended it by yelling, “Happy birthday, Sexbomb Lucky!” to which he playfully commented, “Parang sa 45 years ko sa mundo, hindi ko maisip na tatawagin akong ‘Sexbomb Lucky’.”
Since it was his birthday weekend, their stint wouldn’t be complete without them delivering heartfelt tributes for him, with the Star for All Seasons expressing her earnest request for him and Jessy to give her another grandchild—much to everyone’s amusement, most especially the couple.
As the game officially began with them being asked by Luis to choose their briefcase, Jessy and Vilma related that they actually had a hard time coming up with a decision. His wife told him that after extensive discussion and collaborative brainstorming before the show began, they finally decided to go for briefcase number “3”.
Aside from there being no number “21,” which was Vilma’s first choice since Luis’ birthday is April 21, number “3” also represented their birthdays (Jessy’s December 3 and Vilma’s November 3) and her and Luis’ daughter Isabella Rose (Peanut) is currently 3 years old. Prior to asking a model to bring the briefcase down to them, Luis clarified that nobody from the production staff and crew knew the values of the briefcases, much less where the P1 million was placed.
The “Pambansang Host” then told his mom that mother-and-son content creators Lester and Mommy Ganda, known online as “The Aguinaldos,” were also part of the “Lucky Stars.” Excitement was truly evident in Mommy Ganda as she exuberantly waved and jumped, as well as proudly brandished the handkerchief that Vilma gave her in their previous encounter. She then zealously conveyed how much she loves Vilma, as well as Luis and his family.
Just in case they would be fortunate enough to take home the P1 million, Vilma and Jessy related that they would allocate half of it to the Vilma Santos Foundation, while the other half would be donated to CHILD haus, a temporary shelter for indigent children battling cancer that Luis and Jessy have been supporting for years now. Upon learning that their winnings would all go to charity, Luis pledged to give an amount equal to what they would win that night.
They started with five cases, wherein the largest amount they got to open was P500,000, prompting Banker to offer Jessy and Vilma P33,300, which they rejected. For the next rounds, they also refused the succeeding offers of Banker, even though it reached P133,000 after opening the briefcase with P1.
Just as they thought their winning streak would continue—with each briefcase opened and the Banker’s offers rising — they were suddenly dealt a blow: the ₱1 million prize was revealed to be in briefcase number 11, held by Lucky Star Aubrey Miles. Since the only amounts left were P5 and P125,000, Jessy and Vilma agreed to not take the risk and said “DEAL” to the P81,000 offer of Banker. Although it was revealed that their briefcase contained P125,000, they didn’t have any regrets since they decided to chip in and add to the Banker’s offer, raising the donation to ₱300,000.
The pilot episode wrapped up with Luis welcoming Peanut to the studio and celebrating his birthday with his beloved family and the 20 “lucky stars.”
Catch more fun and exciting moments on “Kapamilya Deal or No Deal,” airing Saturdays and Sundays at 7:30 PM on ABS-CBN sa ALLTV2, Kapamilya Channel, A2Z, and Kapamilya Online Live (KOL), or stream anytime on iWant.