MANILA, Philippines -- Face-off: Joey de Leon vs Willie Revillame.

A confrontation between the two comedian-hosts looms in the august halls of Congress as the Senate formally launches a full investigation of the P2-million “Wowowee” game show scandal that has become the talk of televiewers nationwide today.

“We must look into how to ensure fairness and transparency in television game shows, and the kind of government action needed to regulate the same and ensure the protection of consumers or contestants joining these game shows,” said Sen. Manuel Roxas II, chair of the Senate committee on trade and commerce.

“Millions of Filipinos watch these game shows and send text messages or purchase products so they could become contestants, hoping that they would win and uplift their lives with the prize money,” Roxas said.

In Senate Resolution No. 111, which he filed Monday, Roxas sought an inquiry into the “Wilyonaryo” segment of ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp.’s noontime game show “Wowowee.”

The Senate will zero in on Revillame’s questionable action in the Aug. 20 episode of “Wilyonaryo” in which he was seen holding the jackpot number “2” for the top prize of P2 million when the number should have been on the wheel which showed a “0.”

“The episode raises questions on how television game shows are regulated to ensure and guarantee protection of consumers, especially as such game shows could be seen as a promotions activities for certain goods and services,” Roxas said.

Revillame, who had earlier said he had nothing to explain, is likely to accompany ABS-CBN producers to shed light on the controversy.

De Leon and his partners at a rival noontime show “Eat Bulaga” in GMA 7 -- former Sen. Vicente “Tito” Sotto and Vic Sotto -- have offered to share their long experiences in crafting and hosting TV game shows which could pave the way for an encounter between the group and Revillame.

The two hosts figured in an on-cam word war in their respective shows last week.

“The network war is not our primary concern. The real issue here is how we can assure people who join these television game shows that the contests will be fair,” Roxas said in Filipino during a visit to Baguio City’s public market Monday.

DTI meeting

Roxas is expected to meet Tuesday with officials of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the consumer watchdog, which, he said, should be the lead government agency monitoring TV game shows to ensure that their producers do not rig the outcome and deny the jackpot prize to contestants.

“The outcome of this meeting will determine parallel actions to protect our consumers and ensure that game shows do fall under the oversight function of the DTI,” Roxas said.

He was irked by the department’s earlier refusal to take responsibility for TV game shows. “If the DTI says it can resolve this issue without the need for amendments to the Consumer Code, then I will withdraw my resolution but with a caveat that better standards must be established to prevent a repeat of the ‘Wowowee’ incident.”

More complaints

But more complaints are surfacing against the popular variety program.

The family of slain Marine Cpl. Manuel Tayaban Jr., one of the 15 soldiers killed in a clash with Abu Sayyaf bandits in Basilan on Aug. 18, said in Baguio that they were given the runaround after being badgered by “Wowowee” producers into participating last week in a benefit show that had been dedicated to the slain troopers.

August Tayaban said the producers repeatedly called them up while his brother was being buried on Aug. 27, urging them to join the Sept. 1 episode.

“We were told we would participate in the games, but we had to first undergo an audition. We asked for a Friday audition schedule and proceeded to Manila using borrowed bus fare,” Tayaban, 38, said.

Turned back

But when he and his sister Leticia, 22, arrived at the network’s studios, they were turned back by security guards because six contestants had already been selected.

“They told us we could enter the studio but would be part of the audience. We decided to just turn back and go home,” he said.

Tayaban said his family was not even informed about their role in the show and none of the producers who had called him responded to his angry text messages.

Some tried to appease him, he said.

Military liaison

A Marine sergeant, who served as military liaison for the benefit show, also contacted Tayaban to encourage him to return to the studio.

“But I have made up my mind. We were told that the producers selected six family members, to represent the soldiers who died in Mindanao, in the games. They told us the prizes were to be shared by all the families, but because we were turned back, we never received them,” he said.

“I came forward just to set the record straight that we did not partake of these prizes. People have been calling us about it. [The producers] may try to offer us something later but people may assume we are simply extorting money from them, so it is not likely we will accept it,” Tayaban said.

Consumer Code

Roxas said he hoped that the investigation would help the DTI craft new rules to further strengthen the 15-year-old Republic Act No. 7394, or the Consumer Code of the Philippines, which regulates “sales promotions” to beef up rules on television game shows.

“The easiest thing to do is to ignore the whole thing. But there is a gap in the law that needs to be addressed. We need to look at this matter objectively, guided solely by the need to protect our consumers,” he said.

The senator said it was about time that the TV-addicted Philippines follow the lead of other countries where TV game shows were regulated by state agencies “because the size of the prize money can be enticing enough to promote collusion or connivance.”

As an example, Roxas cited the British authorities’ action on the Sept. 10, 2001, episode of the British “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire” in which the winner of the 1-million pound prize had been coached by a fellow contestant.

The British authorities revoked the prize money and the winner and his accomplices were brought to court. With a report from Vincent Cabreza, Inquirer Northern Luzon