After the elimination of two contestants, Misha De Leon and Nisha Bedaña, last August 29, Chito Miranda as well as his fellow Idol Philippines judges expressed their “devastation” over the result—a remark that has since gone viral online.
“We are devastated. We are devastated pero we can only do so much as judges pero iba pa rin talaga ‘yung voting. Wala akong masabi,” Chito had said when the results were announced during the episode.
He then published a tweet after the episode aired reiterating the importance of public voting in helping contestants advance in the competition. “Sasabihin ko ulit: Devastated. As judges, we could only do so much. Nagkakatalo talaga sa votes. Please, please, please vote for your chickens.”
A lot of netizens began clamoring for a change in the judging mechanics, particularly to either remove the audience voting or lessen its percentage in a contestant’s overall score. Chito then responded to these tweets, first by clarifying that the judges’ frustrations are not towards those who had made it to the Top 8 of Idol Philippines but the lack of support people had for Misha and Nisha.
“May gusto lang ako i-clarify. We weren’t devastated because of those who made it sa Top 8. They deserve their spot… regardless kung trip mo sila o hindi. They worked sooo hard to get there. They got the scores that they needed from the judges, and the support and votes from their supporters. Nag-effort ‘yung mga fans nila para bumoto,” he began.
“Sila ‘yung tipo ng mga fans na willing gumastos para bumili ng tickets sa mga shows, sila ‘yung tipo ng mga fans na pipila para makabili ng CD, and sila ‘yung mga tipo ng supporters na maglo-log in sa isang website para makaboto sa MYX upang manalo ‘yung music video ng mga idol nila. Tulad ng pag-support ng mga fans ni Sarah Geronimo. Nagagalit ba kayo sa kanila if they support their idol, while you don’t actively support yours?”
He then expressed that the mechanics must follow that of the “American Idol” franchise.
“The format and mechanics used on ‘Idol Philippines’ is dictated by the ‘American Idol’ franchise, and sinusunod lamang ng ‘Idol Philippines’ ang patakaran nila… and that includes online voting. They need to consider, include, and add into the equation ‘yung overall tenacity ng supporters when it comes to supporting their bets. And that counts for a large percentage of their total score.”
“Dun ako na-upset: sa fact na wala masyadong nag-effort mag-vote para kay Misha and Nisha… because I felt they deserved more from their supporters,” he added. “Instead of complaining, and asking Idol Philippines to change, and go against the format dictated by the American Idol Franchise, maybe it would be easier to simply make an effort to vote…just like what the others did for those they chose to support. Kung nagawa nila, magagawa nyo din…kung gusto nyo.”
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