SUBIC BAY FREEPORT?For the past few weeks, there have been rumors that TV5, under new management led by Manny V. Pangilinan?s MediaQuest, has been offering stars (and several TV executives) lucrative deals to help the fledgling network move up in the ratings game.

Bobby Barreiro, TV5 executive vice president and chief operating officer, said he had heard talks about rival channels conducting ?loyalty checks.?

?This only means the competition is now taking us seriously, especially since we are now part of a bigger family,? Barreiro told Inquirer Entertainment during TV5?s media event at the 21st Advertising Congress on Friday.

The biggest buzz is that Vic Sotto and Joey de Leon, with fellow ?Eat Bulaga? host Ryan Agoncillo, will move to TV5. (Sotto, De Leon and Agoncillo host shows for TV5: ?Who Wants to be a Millionaire? for Sotto; ?Wow Mali? for De Leon; and ?Talentadong Pinoy? for Agoncillo.)

Not true

There?s even talk that noontime top-rater ?Eat Bulaga? is being lured away from GMA 7 by TV5.

GMA?s contract with ?Eat Bulaga? producer, Tape Inc., ends next month but has just been renewed for three more years starting 2010.

Barreiro denies the rumor: ?Even though some of their stars are doing shows with us ? it doesn?t necessarily follow that the entire show is moving to our channel.?

The presence of Sotto and Agoncillo in TV5?s event at the Subic Bay Convention Center further fueled speculations. Though it?s a weekday, the two excused themselves from ?Eat Bulaga? to join the TV5 team at the congress.

De Leon was supposed to join them, but had to stay in Manila for the noontime program, related Agoncillo.

?It was important for Vic and Ryan to be there because they host our flagship shows,? Barreiro explained.

Another for Ryan

Still, there is no truth to the rumor that Agoncillo was pressured to sign an exclusive deal with ABS-CBN and quit from ?Eat Bulaga? and ?Talentadong Pinoy,? according to Agoncillo and his manager Noel Ferrer.

?It?s also not true that ?George and Cecil? was axed because Ryan joined ?Eat Bulaga,?? said Ferrer. ?In fact, it had already been extended to its third season. ABS-CBN is also planning a game show for him.?

It may not be accurate, but talk of ?loyalty checks? and ?undue pressure on talents? gives Barreiro pause. ?I hope it?s not true. These stars just want to make a living. We are just creating more jobs? and more options for viewers. I hope the stars will not be caught in a bind because of the network war.?

But is Bossing Vic jumping over to TV5?

Barreiro insisted: ?We love Vic. He?s a good guy. We enjoy working with him and we are trying to nurture this relationship. We are thinking of other shows for him and we value his input. In any case, he?s not under exclusive contract with GMA 7.?

Own roster

Barreiro related that one of the new management?s priorities is to build its own stable of stars so that it will not be dependent on the talent pool of other channels.

?Having our own artist center is necessary,? he said. ?We?ve started doing that with the discoveries from ?Talentado.? They are very much in demand. The Far East Acrobats were a big hit here at the Ad Congress.?