Jose Manalo

Career

Manalo first appeared in the afternoon soap Valiente as one of the supporting characters. He later started working behind the scenes as a production assistant on Eat Bulaga!. He then became a comedian and with his friend Wally Bayola, who was also entering show business around the same time, later became a comic duo. He also appeared in several sitcoms on GMA Network like Daddy Di Do Du and Ful Haus, both starring Vic Sotto.

In 2010, Manalo returned to TV5 (formerly ABC 5) for his former sitcom, My Darling Aswang with Vic Sotto & Ritchie Reyes (also known as Ritchie D' Horsie). This was his second television program on TV5 after the show Boyoyongs which formerly aired in 1992.

In 2011, Manalo, along with his comedic partner Bayola, headlined his own TV5 comedy show, The Jose and Wally Show Starring Vic Sotto and also Jimmy Santos. Manalo also worked with Vic Sotto in movies, like Pak! Pak! My Dr. Kwak! and the MMFF film entry Enteng Ng Ina Mo.

Juan for All, All for Juan: Kalyeserye

Beginning in July 2015, Manalo played various roles in Eat Bulaga!'s Kalyeserye including:

Controversy

In 2012, Jose Manalo's wife lodged a complaint against the comedian for verbal and emotional abuse. In her affidavit, she claimed that the abuse started in 2011 when Manalo had an alleged affair with a member of a popular dance group, rumored to be EB Babe Mergene. Manalo denied the charges of abuse and also his wife's accusations of family abandonment and child neglect. In his official statement, Manalo asserted that he provided support, "financial or otherwise," to his children.

In late 2013, however, Manalo's daughter filed a case of violation against her father for failure to provide financial support, which caused her to drop out of school. The following year, his daughter subsequently attempted suicide, citing her family problems and mainly blaming her father as the reason. Manalo had also refuted these allegations by his daughter.