MANILA — Singer Bugoy Drilon was in tears as he returned to the “It’s Showtime” stage on Wednesday, after a year beset with crises for his home network ABS-CBN.

Drilon was the mystery celebrity singer in the “Hide and Sing” segment of the noontime program, where he attempted to mislead contestants Belle Mariano and Gillian Vicencio by changing his singing voice.

The two young stars, however, still managed to guess correctly, with the help of the hosts’ deliberation.

Not long after removing his mask, Drilon appeared to turn emotional, as the hosts inside the studio cheered at his reveal.

“Madlang people, I miss you all. I’m so happy to be here and to see all of you,” he said.

When Kim Chiu observed he was on the verge of tears, Drilon could no longer hold his emotions.

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“Sa sobrang happy ko, naiyak na ako. Na-miss ko kayo. Kanina pa ako nanginginig… It’s really nice po to be back,” he said.

Vice Ganda joined the other hosts in welcoming back Drilon, saying, “Ang saya, nandidito ka ulit!”

Drilon, who made his showbiz breakthrough in 2008 via ABS-CBN’s “Pinoy Dream Academy,” then performed his signature hit “Paano Na Kaya.”

In the months that followed ABS-CBN’s forced broadcast shutdown, thousands of its employees were retrenched, with many units scaling down production costs to keep afloat. That meant limited opportunities, too, for talents like Drilon to appear on ABS-CBN programs.

Drilon, like many other Kapamilya celebrities, meantime, found work elsewhere as ABS-CBN started its process of rebuilding.

In Drilon’s case, that meant making guest appearances on GMA-7’s “Eat Bulaga” and TV5’s “Sunday Noontime Live,” among others.

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