Ariel Ureta and his “bisikleta” joke

Storyline: Over the years, some Martial Law stories have turned out to be part history and part legend. Such is the case with comedic icon Ariel Ureta and his alleged “bisikleta” joke. Rumor has it that during the height of Marcos dictatorship, Ureta mocked the New Republic’s slogan “Sa ikauunlad ng bayan, disiplina ang kailangan” by twisting it into “Sa ikauunlad ng bayan, bisikleta ang kailangan”. Enraged with the political joke, Marcos took matters into his own hands and ordered Ureta to bike around Camp Crame grounds up to the point of exhaustion. Or so the story goes.  

Moment of truth: During one his most recent interviews, Ureta–now in his early 70’s–confirmed that the myth started while he was still hosting Noontime Matinee. But contrary to popular belief, Ureta first heard the joke from a help and then later shared it to his colleague, Bong Lapira, while they were hanging out at the Channel 7 canteen. In other words, it was just a harmless joke made even more colorful perhaps by people terrified with Martial Law. To set the records straight, the Umagang Kay Ganda segment host also revealed that he actually worked with Imee Marcos in Metro Magazine almost three months after the rumor started. This won’t happen if there was ever a rift between him and the Marcoses at that time.

Source: filipiknow.net