Photo credit: TVJ / Eat Bulaga

TVJ Productions' legal counsel, Atty. Enrique Dela Cruz, has announced their intention to file legal action against Television and Production Exponents (TAPE) Inc. regarding the access to the "Eat Bulaga" YouTube channel.

This development follows TAPE's recent claim that they have regained access to the channel, which remained inactive since the departure of Tito Sotto, Joey De Leon, Vic Sotto, and other former "Eat Bulaga" hosts from the company in May.
In a statement, Atty. Dela Cruz expressed TVJ Productions' concern over this revelation, asserting that TAPE did not previously possess access to the YouTube channel.

He emphasized, "The owner of the YouTube channel is the owner of the email used to register it. It is not TAPE. That is why they never had access to this account." Dela Cruz also raised the possibility that this situation could constitute cybercrime if there was unauthorized access or misrepresentation to YouTube.
Furthermore, Dela Cruz clarified that the channel's content consists of past episodes of "Eat Bulaga," and TVJ Productions holds the copyright for these episodes and any derivative works.

In response, TAPE Inc.'s legal counsel, Atty. Maggie Abraham Garduque, denied any wrongdoing on their part, stating, "Being the owner of the account, TAPE was able to coordinate with YouTube to change the email and the password and the new contact person on behalf of the company." She added that TAPE Inc. is prepared to provide official receipts from YouTube confirming their ownership of the account and clarified that the associated bank account also belongs to TAPE Inc.