Where
is comic singer-composer Yoyoy Villame these days? Well,
still singing his old hilarious hits like "Magellan
Discovered the Philippines" "Mag-Exercise Tuwing
Umaga," "Philippine Geography" and "Buchikik"
at least twice a year for Filipino communities abroad.
And strumming along to new songs about his new life with
Christ who he says healed his son from drug addiction
and restored Yoyoy's broken home. Yoyoy's new songs, titled
"The Greater One, Jesus" and "Jesus My
Lord" and many others are now less funny than joyful
and full of hope.
Yoyoy , and
his rags to riches-of-Christ story was the special feature
of a Labor Day episode of The 700 Club Asia, hosted
by Peter Kairuz and Tricia Jimenez. Yoyoy Villame experienced
skyrocketing fame and wealth when his "Magellan.."
album hit quintuple platinum, selling 200,000 copies.
From a life of "one day one eat" (isang kahig,
isang tuka), the former jeepney and bus driver moved
into a new house, starred in a movie with comedian Chiquito,
and was a frequent guest of musical TV show queens Nora
Aunor and Vilma Santos. But it didn't buy Nonoy happiness.
 Yoyoy
broke up with his wife when they could no longer resolve
their constant quarrels, which often revolved around
his spending late nights performing in nightclubs. In
the process, his eldest son, a nightclub band drummer,
turned to drugs and deteriorated into a near-psychotic
walking skeleton. One day, as the boy hovered between
life and death, a pastor visited Yoyoy and offered to
pray for his son. The next time Yoyoy went to visit
his estranged family, he found his wife and children
happy, accommodating and completely transformed. His
addict son was restored to health and drug-free.Impressed,
Yoyoy agreed to go with them to their new church. During
that first service, he felt that the pastor's message
was specifically tailored for him. Amazed, he grilled
his wife and kids on whether they had shared their family
history and problems with the pastor. They assured him
they didn't. God knew his heart and was speaking to
him through the pastor in a very personal way. Touched,
Nonoy walked up front during the altar call and received
Christ in his heart as his personal Lord and Savior.
He also decided to reconcile with his family.
Yoyoy, whose
real name is Roman, got his name from "Loloy,"
the Visayan word for the youngest child in the family.
He attributes his initial success to humility, hard
work and lots of favor from above. He drove a jeepney
for 10 years before becoming a bus driver in the province
of Bohol. To pass the time between trips, he entertained
passengers waiting at the terminal with his comic compositions.
Before long, the passengers could no longer get into
the buses because large crowds jammed the terminal to
hear Yoyoy sing.
Yoyoy's bus
manager advised him to just quit his job as a driver,
and made a recording of his songs. The rest is jukebox
history.
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