remember the '...bisikleta ang kailangan' guy?

ariel ureta -- that's him. and i just read that he has been hosting a talk show on ANC21 for two months now. has anybody seen it? it's on mondays and wednesdays, 6pm, "while the rest of Philippine television is on an adrenaline rush reporting the latest on the Garci tapes and Kris Aquino’s love life.." as the Sunday Inquirer story goes. watching comfortable tete-a-tetes between the easygoing host and non-controversial guests is not a bad option at all. =)

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SEEN ON TV
Still Gabbing After All These Years

First posted 05:26am (Mla time) July 31, 2005
By Pennie Azarcon de la Cruz
Inquirer News Service

Editor's Note: Published on page Q4 of the July 31, 2005 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer

HE was so big in the ’70s that martial law authorities used him to start a rumor meant to quell dissent. But no, says Ariel Ureta, of late the host of ANC’s “My Favorite Show,” there’s no truth to the “bisikleta” (bicycle) story that had him cycling around Crame, allegedly because he made fun of the New Society slogan on television.

What eventually became an urban legend started when the then popular noontime show host heard a small boy utter those infamous words: “Sa ikauunlad ng bayan, bisikleta ang kailangan,” (For the nation’s progress, use a bicycle) a send-off of the era’s paean to discipline as the way to progress. “I whispered the story to (newscaster) Bong Lapira at the ABS-CBN canteen and soon enough, it was on everybody’s lips,” recounts Ariel.

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