💔 THE CLOWN WHO CRIED: SUPER TEKLA’S UNMASKING AND THE SCANDAL THAT SHOOK PHILIPPINE SHOWBIZ 💔

The spotlights of the Philippine entertainment industry are notoriously harsh, yet few have burned as intensely, or cast shadows as deep, as those illuminating Super Tekla. On stage, she is an incandescent, fearless force—a flamboyant, riotously “madiskarte” (resourceful) entity whose every joke is a cannonball of laughter. She is Super Tekla, the beloved, the outrageous, the star whose very presence promises chaos and catharsis.

But underneath the shimmering sequins and the foundation caked thick enough to hide a thousand sorrows, the man behind the mask—Romeo Librada—is a figure far darker, more complex, and infinitely more tragic than his manic stage persona. His life is not merely a biography; it is a sprawling, gut-wrenching Filipino epic, a brutal narrative of survival etched in poverty, betrayal, addiction, and a final, career-defining scandal that threatened to strip the beloved comedian of everything—his fame, his fortune, and the fragile reputation he had built from nothing.

This is the untold, unvarnished story of Super Tekla: a deep-dive investigation into the genius who created a comedic god only to be nearly destroyed by the very demons he thought he had escaped.

I. THE ROOTS OF THE RAGE: SURVIVAL IN THE TRIBAL SHADOWS

Romeo Librada’s genesis was not on a soundstage but in the raw, unforgiving landscape of Pigkawayan, Cotabato, on January 13, 1982. Born into the Manobo tribe, his childhood was a swift, savage lesson in loss. Orphaned first by his mother, then by the swift passing of his grandfather, the young Librada was cast into the unforgiving currents of self-reliance before he was old enough to understand the gravity of grief.

His subsequent journey to Manila was a desperate scramble for air. He took the invisible jobs of the capital’s underclass: a construction worker, a janitor, and a mall “gimmick” artist, hustling for loose change. His only refuge was the videoke machine, where his powerful singing voice—a talent often overshadowed by his comedy—would momentarily let him escape the relentless poverty.

It was in one of these dingy mall corners that fate, masquerading as two opportunistic gay men he would later call his “fairy godmothers,” intervened. They didn’t see a janitor; they saw a desperation, a raw hunger for the spotlight that could be monetized. They ushered him from the back alleys of Manila into the smoke-filled, high-stakes crucible of the comedy bar circuit. But here, another truth emerged: his natural talent wasn’t enough. His initial attempts at a traditional, masculine comedy persona crashed and burned. He needed a weapon, a shield, a spectacle.

II. THE CALCULATED SACRIFICE: THE BIRTH OF THE PARADOX

The birth of Super Tekla was not an artistic epiphany; it was a cold, calculated act of career warfare. Realizing he couldn’t compete as a straight male comedian, Librada made the ultimate sacrifice: he donned the drag, embraced the “buang” (crazy) female character, and created a persona so audacious, so unrestrained, that she couldn’t be ignored.

Here lies the haunting paradox: Super Tekla—the flamboyantly gay, queenly figure who commands the stage—is played by Romeo Librada, a straight man and father of three children. This strategic duality is the foundation of his stardom, yet it fueled years of public speculation and the constant, unnerving feeling that the audience was witnessing a performance layered upon a carefully concealed truth. He exploited the very ambiguity that defined him, turning an adopted gender identity into a multi-million-peso empire. This ruthless commercialization of identity is the untold secret of his initial success—a testament to his survival instinct.

But the price of such intense duality is often paid in the currency of inner stability.

III. THE FALL FROM GRACE: ADDICTION AND THE WHISPER OF THE CASINO

Super Tekla’s ascent was meteoric. His comedic brilliance was undeniable, culminating in his discovery on the GMA game show Wowowin in 2016. Willie Revillame, the kingmaker of noontime television, elevated him to co-host status, placing him on the highest pedestal of Philippine showbiz. He had finally escaped Cotabato. He had finally won.

The triumph was tragically short-lived.

By 2017, the whispers began. Not of performance issues, but of personal vice. Reports surfaced of his heavy gambling, of being drawn into the vortex of the casino, and of professional delays that caused friction with the show’s management. The star who had clawed his way out of poverty was now allegedly sinking his newfound wealth back into the seductive, destructive abyss of addiction.

The resulting shockwave—his abrupt, unceremonious removal from Wowowin—was a public humiliation. It was a terrifying moment of de-platforming that echoed his initial struggles, confirming a brutal truth: the demons of the past, the desperation bred by poverty, were still clinging to him, threatening to drag him back down to the janitor’s floor.

IV. THE IMPLOSION: SCANDAL AND THE PUBLIC TRIAL BY MEDIA**

Yet, even the ignominy of the Wowowin exit paled in comparison to the existential threat that arrived later. In a staggering, highly publicized event that rocked the entire entertainment landscape, Super Tekla’s private life imploded into a national spectacle.

His former live-in partner, Michelle Lord Balaag, brought chilling accusations of sexual abuse and financial cruelty to the highest court of public opinion—the infamous media show of Raffy Tulfo. The allegations were specific and devastating: claims of being allegedly forced into intimacy despite her physical condition, and of being financially punished—withholding food money—when she refused.

The tension, captured live on television and broadcast across the nation, was unbearable. It was a high-stakes investigation played out in real-time, placing the beloved comedian in the role of the accused. His defense, while maintaining his innocence against the abuse claims and insisting on the integrity of his love and support for his children, was forced to confront the public’s perception that the chaos of his private life mirrored the instability of his past vices. His manager vehemently denied the abuse, claiming the viral video was possibly “planted” or edited, but the damage was done. For the first time, Super Tekla’s laughter felt hollow, haunted by the genuine pain of those closest to him.

His friends, the unwavering comedic shield of Boobay and Donita Nose, stood by him—a fragile lifeline in the storm of controversy, insisting on his goodness and claiming the allegations were misinterpreted or exaggerated. But the scar remained, a permanent mark on the man who had traded his identity for fame.

V. THE UNCERTAIN VOW: FATHER, COMEDIAN, REDEEMER

Super Tekla survived the scandal, a testament to the powerful loyalty of his fan base and his ultimate journalistic triumph: The Boobay and Tekla Show (TBATS), a viral YouTube sensation that migrated to GMA Network, proving his star power transcended the networks that had tried to control him.

His current chapter is defined by a solemn, public vow of redemption. He has spoken openly about his past errors, including the gambling, declaring his absolute commitment to his three children and his role as a provider. He has consciously separated the stage character—the “gay person” who is merely a performance—from Romeo Librada, the straight man and dedicated father.

While rumors of TBATS reform or timeslot changes linger, the core truth remains: Super Tekla’s endurance is now less about comedy and more about courage. He is a man who, against all odds, clawed his way from the forgotten tribes of Cotabato, navigated the cynical demands of showbiz, fell into the abyss of addiction, and survived the most brutal public trial of his life.

The laughter he delivers today is not just entertainment; it is an exorcism. It is the sound of a man battling his demons in the spotlight, forever haunted by the shadow of the construction worker and the janitor, and eternally struggling to keep the chaotic genius of Super Tekla from consuming the vulnerable soul of Romeo Librada. His story is a chilling reminder that in the glittering world of Philippine showbiz, the price of fame is often measured in the ultimate sacrifice of self.