IT?S a question that could pose a major, major problem to even the quickest-witted comedian.

Is it too early to joke about the Quirino Grandstand hostage-taking tragedy?

Vice Ganda, the ?un-evictable? judge on ABS-CBN?s ?Showtime,? thinks it?s actually ripe for satire.

He explained: ?For me it?s okay to laugh about it. We shouldn?t laugh at the victims, but there are certain aspects of that incident that could become a rich source of material for stand-up comedians.?

He confessed that he couldn?t help giggling when he first read the Internet joke about PNP being short for ?Palpak na Pulis? instead of Philippine National Police.

?Whether we like it or not, jokes somehow lessen the hurt and sadness,? he noted. Just keeping it real.

His own life took a melodramatic turn recently when his grandmother Rosita suffered a massive stroke in the United States.

?At first, I thought it was my mom and I got depressed,? he recalled. ?When I found out it was my grandma, I became more depressed. I?m very close to my lola.?

When he reported on ?Showtime,? he had to wear shades on the set. ?I didn?t want the audience to see my puffy eyes. I had been crying all night.?

But ?Showtime? must go on for Vice. ?I remind myself... my job is to entertain.?

Biggest fans
He pointed out that his mom and grandma are two people who are genuinely happy for his current success.

?They subscribed to TFC so they could watch ?Showtime? in San Francisco.? At first, Filipino friends there didn?t believe his mom when she told them he was her son. ?So I greeted her and mentioned her name, Rosario Borja-Viceral, on the show,? he said.

Vice is Jose Mari Viceral in real life.

Apart from his launching movie ?Petrang Kabayo,? Vice also signed up with Globe as the telecommunication company?s latest endorser?specifically, for its SuperAll Txt 20 campaign.

Vice admitted that he could run up to P25,000 a month on his cell phone bills. ?But it?s okay because I want to keep in touch with my mom.?

Amid the hectic pace of his career, Vice feels a need to slow down. ?Things are going too fast for me. I didn?t have time to prepare,? he confessed.

He?s been vocal about his wish to quit as judge on ?Showtime.? ?But I still want to be part of the show. I just want to make people laugh, maybe flirt with the guys.?

Facebook ?haters? claim that Vice has become a diva?arrogant and demanding, especially now that ?Showtime? is being pitted against noontime giant ?Eat Bulaga.?

?That?s an old issue,? he cracked. ?I never denied that I?m mayabang, if that means honest and frank. We have no right to be over-confident because ?Eat Bulaga? has been around for over 30 years.?

Would he ever go the way of Willie Revillame? ?No,? he said. ?I will never fight with [ABS-CBN] management. In the first place, I have no contact with the bosses. Secondly, I believe in the saying that you shouldn?t bite the hand that feeds you.?

Reader?s Digest cover
Another source of pride is the cover story on him in Reader?s Digest Asia this September.

?Just seeing your name mentioned in Funny Komiks is a big deal already, much more being on the cover of Reader?s Digest,? Vice enthused.

E-mail bayanisandiego@hotmail.com.