Inday Badiday. Photo: Screengrab from YouTube/Magpakailanman GMASenator Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri’s mention of the late veteran television host and entertainment columnist Inday Badiday in a fit of anger on the Senate floor Monday night has renewed interest from the younger set about who she was.
For those who have not lived through the 70s and the 80s, or did not have access to television, Inday Badiday was the original Queen of Intrigue.
Long before the likes of Kris Aquino, Boy Abunda, Ogie Diaz or Cristy Fermin took over the showbiz talk show landscape, Inday was already a household name, a trusted authority when it comes to entertainment news. Such was her influence in showbiz that almost all celebrities would aspire to be a guest in her shows.
READ: IC Mendoza says ‘all good’ after Migz Zubiri’s apology over ‘Inday Badiday’ remark
Here are a few facts about Inday Badiday:
Queen of Intrigue
Born Maria Lourdes Carvajal, Inday Badiday, also known as Ate Luds, rose to fame as one of the pioneers of entertainment talk and gossip programming in Philippine television during the late 70s, and continued working well into the 80s and the 90s, earning the moniker “Queen of Intrigue” for her distinctive style of celebrity reporting and interviews.
She was born to Maria Clara Vega and Narciso Jimenez, the former Ambassador to Korea. She was also the sister of the late Letty Jimenez-Magsanoc, the former editor-in-chief of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, the print counterpart of Inquirer.net.
The name Inday Badiday was coined by her mother, deriving from the Visayan “Inday,” meaning “girly,” and “Badiday,” meaning “gay” or “flamboyant,” to refer to the “nature of the gossip industry.”
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Inday died of multiple organ failure caused by two strokes on September 26, 2003. She was 59. Her life story was later featured in the drama anthology “Magpakailanman” in April 2004. Angelu de Leon played the role.
According to Esquire, referencing a university paper from the Michigan Library, Inday later took on the name “to save her family from the potential embarrassment of being associated with such working-class proclivities as movie stars and Tagalog movies.”
Showbiz and public service
Inday later became a household name after headlining the TV programs “Nothing but the Truth,” “See-True,” and “Eye to Eye,” which later served as Philippine TV’s template for showbiz talk shows.
“Before, showbiz reporters were taboo on the air. Ipinaglaban ko ‘yun (I fought to change that). My point was, they are the people who know what questions to ask the stars, who know what’s happening. Many people did not like that idea, putting showbiz reporters on the air. At least ngayon tanggap na tanggap na sila (Now, they’re accepted),” she said in an article in Philippine Daily Inquirer in 2002.
At a time when entertainment reporting was largely limited to print columns and formal TV interviews, Inday helped popularize a more conversational and personality-driven format that brought celebrity controversies and behind-the-scenes stories into mainstream television.
Her catchphrases and on-air style became part of pop culture, with audiences tuning in not just for celebrity updates but also for her theatrical delivery and candid commentary. During the eight-year run of her show “Eye to Eye,” Inday would end the show with the greeting, “Saranghamnida Bo,” which means “I love you” in Korean, Bo was said to be the nickname of her second husband, Gene Palomo.
Aside from her signature no-script, freewheeling showbiz reporting, Inday was also known for her charitable TV segment announcing lost or kidnapped children, or providing medical assistance to the needy on her media platforms. She was the local Oprah Winfrey, except that she preceded the American TV host, both in years and in melding the showbiz format of her shows with segments aimed at helping the public.
Before her transition to television, she was also a columnist for different showbiz and movie magazines, including “Eyebugs: Bigay Hilig sa Balitang Showbiz,” “Modern Romances,” and “Tsismis.”
Actor and film producer
Aside from her work in entertainment journalism, Inday was also a film producer. She was credited in the 1994 film “Lab Kita, Bilib Ka Ba?” starring Robin Padilla and Ruffa Gutierrez.
She also appeared in movies such as “The Young at Heart” (1970), starring Nora Aunor and Tirso Cruz III, and “Juan & Ted: Wanted” (2000), starring Janno Gibbs and Bayani Agbayani.
Inday kept a tight knit of friends in her showbiz circle, among them the late fellow GMA TV hosts German Moreno and Ike Lozada, and TV anchor Helen Vela, whose radio program followed hers on dzBB. She was also known to have struck a friendship with the late TV producer-writer Kitchie Benedicto, and Aunor, whom she called her “soul sister.”
Inday Badiday. Photo: Screengrab from YouTube/Magpakailanman GMA
She was also known for her numerous spiels, among them she popularized on radio and TV. “‘Kung may gusot, may lusot.’ (If there is a tangle, there is a way out.) That’s one of Ma’s original lines, which she used to say in her radio program,” said her daughter Dolly Anne Carvajal in her column on PDI in 2019.
Inday’s legacy
Inday Badiday’s name recently resurfaced in public discourse after Zubiri referenced her during a Senate manifestation, where he likened the late entertainment host to the alleged misinformation claims made by Senator Imee Marcos when she presented a video disparaging the Senate minority of which he is a member.
“Inday Badiday na ba tayo rito sa Senado? Kaya nga sinasabi nila we’re a circus. I apologize to those who are watching. They think we are a circus because of this type of language that we are pushing in this august chamber. It’s unparliamentary,” said Zubiri.
The remark drew attention online and prompted a response from her grandson, former child actor IC Mendoza, who said Inday’s legacy should not be reduced to political analogies.
Mendoza, who is the son of Carvajal, stressed that his grandmother was more than “showbiz chika,” saying she helped shape the landscape of Philippine entertainment journalism.
Zubiri later issued an apology, saying his remark was made out of frustration and not intended to diminish Lourdes’ legacy. He acknowledged the late journalist’s contribution to Philippine media and said he would be more mindful in his statements moving forward.
Nowadays, there is a term being used for someone who loves to gossip in showbiz (or outside of it) and is always up-to-date on the latest rumors — Marites. The term is the shortened version of “Mare, anong latest?” (Friend, what’s the latest gossip?), and sometimes, further abbreviated to Maris (Mare, anong chismis?).
Regardless of what’s in a name, Inday Badiday’s legacy in showbiz was not tarnished by misinformation, but instead cemented by her credibility, wit, and fearless storytelling. Thanks to her, it’s no longer taboo to report about showbiz on television, nor to pry in search of the truth, in showbiz or otherwise. /edv
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source entertainment.inquirer.net ’
