Michael V. updates on COVID-19 battle

The comedian, whose moniker is Bitoy, said he started getting suspicious after losing his sense of smell, and resorted to isolating himself.

He announced through his his vlog post titled "#BitoyStory29: Positive," baring that he had been experiencing flu-like symptoms since he made his last vlog.

Halfway through the 14-minute video, Bitoy showed himself taking a swab test on July 15. Towards the end, he can be seen consulting a doctor for confirmation of his test result three days later. He showed a screenshot of the email which read: "SARS-COV-2 (causative agent of COVID-19) viral RNA detected."

"That's it, positive, just as what we suspected early on," Bitoy told his viewers, right after talking to his doctor.

Michael V. recently gave a positive update on his health condition after he announced over a couple of weeks ago that he has tested positive for COVID-19.

In the “Chika Minute” segment of GMA News "24 Oras Weekend" on August 1, the comedian also known as Bitoy said he is getting better now and his sense of smell is improving.

"'Yung pang-amoy ang nakakatawa, kasi may pang-amoy na ako... So hindi pa rin siya 100% pero at least," the Kapuso comedian said.

"Nu'ng isang araw nagluluto ng hamburger 'yung kasambahay namin, naamoy ko from this room. Pero nu'ng isinserve na sa akin, nu'ng binigay na sa akin, hindi ko na maamoy from this distance. So magulo talaga.”

Kapuso comedian Michael V. in his latest vlog shared that he has been feeling a lot better lately and disclosed how he may have contracted the novel coronavirus.

He noted that during the filming of the vlog, he was already nine days straight of not showing any COVID-19 symptom.

Michael V. disclosed that he and his family traveled to Batangas in early July, but none of his family members got infected. He also shared that one of their helpers also tested positive, but his children, who are the ones in contact with the helper most of the time, tested negative.

“Ang duda ko deliveries. Pero FYI, lahat ng deliveries na dumadating, hindi nakakapasok dito sa studio ng hindi sina-sanitize,” the comedian clarified. (My guess is deliveries. But for your information, all the deliveries I had did not enter this studio without getting sanitized.)

Michael V. also disclosed that another bad part of having COVID-19 is the “stigma” against patients, saying he himself got harassed once.

“Para kang tinatakan na ‘reject’ ng lipunan. Kahit naka-full PPE [personal protective equipment] ka, iniiwasan ka ng mga tao, kinatatakutan, pinandidirihan,” he said.

“Ang masama ‘yung iba hinihiya o hina-harass ka pa. Hindi ko na lang ide-detalye, pero kami mismong ng pamilya ko naka-experience kami ng harassment,” the comedian added.

(The worst thing is that others shame or harass you. I will not go into details, but my family and I experienced harassment.)

Michael V. explained that while this may be one of the reasons why others with symptoms choose not to get tested, it is still an individual’s responsibility to get tested and follow health protocols.

Michael V introduces "Pepito Manaloto"

Ipinakilala ni Michael V kung sino si " Pepito Manaloto," ang masuwerteng karakter na mapapanood sa bagong sitcom sa Kapuso Network simula sa March 13.

"Si Pepito Manaloto ay isang masuwerte kasi as his name suggest, nanalo siya sa lotto," panimula ni Michael V o Bitoy sa ulat ni entertainment reporter Audrey Carampel sa Chika Minute ng GMA news 24 Oras nitong Miyerkules.

"Na-curious kasi ako kung anong nangyayari kapag nanalo ka sa lotto, anong gagawin mo pagkatapos. Kasi maraming ganun di ba nanalo sa lotto tapos nauwi sa wala mahirap uli," kuwento niya.

Proud si Michael V sa bago niyang proyekto kung saan makakasama niya sina Manilyn Reynes at Carmina Villaroel. Ito ay pamamahala ng batikang direktor na si Bert De Leon.

Ayon pa kay Bitoy, ibang-iba ang Pepito Manaloto - na kauna-unahan niyang sitcom - kumpara sa kanyang lingguhang gag show na Bubble Gang.

At para maging realistic ang kanyang pagganap, kinailangan baguhin ang itsura ni Bitoy. Kabilang na dito ang pagpapaitim sa kanya, ang paglalagay ng wig at pustiso.

Para malayo sa tradisyunal na sitcom, ang Pepito Manaloto ay nilagyan ng elemento ng reality, documentary at pati na drama.



Kaya subaybayan ang pakikipagsapalaran ni Pepito Manaloto simula sa March 13. - Fidel Jimenez, GMANews.TV

Michael V

Michael V. (born Beethoven Bunagan), also known as "Bitoy" or "Toybits", is a Filipino comedian, actor and parodist, who appears in the hit GMA Network show Bubble Gang, and in his own TV show Bitoy's Funniest Videos. He is known for his "translations" and parodies of Filipino and foreign pop songs, and has made original songs, such as "Sinaktan Mo Ang Puso Ko", in a way that can consider him the Weird Al Yankovic of the Philippines. He's the second Filipino to have graced the cover of Readers' Digest.

Background

Beethoven was born on December 17, 1969 in Pandacan, Manila, Philippines. An extremely shy young man, he was often pessimistic about his life, thinking that he was too dumb to have a future. Then one day, little did he know that while drunk and singing a certain song, his voice was actually being recorded by his wife.
Mr. Beethoven, aka Bitoy, is indeed an actor worth of admiration. Unlike his peers in the industry, this writer and actor has an academic degree in Mass Communication from the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila.
He has won the Asian Television Awards for the Best Comedy Performance by an Actor for the years 2004, 2005 and 2006.

The Bubble G Anthology

In 2006, Michael released his newest studio album, The Bubble G Anthology, which is a compilation of his song parodies from the TV show Bubble Gang. His new album can be described as "an audio-visual venture", with songs such as Mamaw, which is a parody of Kamikazee's song Narda, and DJ Bumbay, a comical take at the Indian merchants that are doing business in the Philippines. Some the songs in his album, like Wag N'yo Kaming Pansinin, poked fun at his gay colleague Diego, which is also a regular at Bubble Gang. It was also said that he needed to re-master some of his song parody performaces, since, because it was first played on TV, it came out as mono, and to make it distinguishable from pirated versions.

Trivia

• He first started out as a rap artist, whose first single was Maganda Ang Piliin (Ayoko Ng Panget), which was a reaction to the hugely popular rap song Humanap Ka Ng Panget. Although the song and its accompanying album became a hit, it, along with his rap career, became largely obscured by his current career as a comedian.
• It was revealed in an interview with Sunday Inquirer Magazine that his stage name was derived from two performers that he admires: Michael Jackson and Gary V. It was also customary among Filipino male rappers during the early 1990s (see above) to reduce their stage surnames to a single initial, such as Francis M and Andrew E.
• Michael V.'s first movie appearance was in Regal Films' comedy flick, "Banana Split" topbilled by Joey Marquez. But his star shone more brightly when Octo Arts Films started to include him in several comedy flicks that cast him alongside Vic Sotto ("Ano ba Yan", "Ano ba Yan 2", "D' Sisters", "Lastikman"), Ogie Alcasid ("Ano ba Yan", "Ano ba Yan 2", "Manolo en Michelle", etc.), Francis M, and many more. But he has yet to appear in a movie alongside legendary comedian Dolphy, since this has been his longtime dream.
• Bitoy has also tried his hand in directing, when he was appointed as TV director for GMA Network's practical joke show "Ooops!" in 1999. The show was hosted by Bitoy's "Bubble Gang" co-stars Antonio Aquitania, Wendell Ramos and Jessa Zaragosa. "Ooops!" lasted for 2 seasons on the air.
• It was said that he made a parody of the song My Humps entitled "Anghang" (which was a hit among Filipino internet users), although it wasn't likely that he made the said spoof, judging from the quality of the recording.

CARMINA VILLAROEL IS NOW A CERTIFIED KAPUSO ARTIST W/ SHOW MICHAEL V’S “PEPITO MANALOTO”

Carmina Villaroel has recently signed an exclusive contract with GMA Network. Carmina is now a certified Kapuso artist which she will start for a lead role in Michael V’s newest sitcom “Pepito Manaloto.

PEPITO MANALOTO

'Pepito Manaloto' is a Philippines situation comedy television series that premiered on GMA Network on March 2010. The show is part of the network's KiliTV comedy programming block. It will replace Bitoy's SHOwwwTIME.


CAST:

• Michael V. as Pepito Manaloto
• Manilyn Reynes
• Eugene Domingo
• Carmina Villaroel as Hanzel
• Ronnie Henares