The two Miss Q and A judges clashed with their opinions about the answer given by a contestant on It’s Showtime.
During the August 10 episode of It’s Showtime, Miss Q and A contestants, Ralph Conducto Romero and Rochelle Domingo, battled it out in the final round. Romero was the reigning queen and needed two more wins to secure a slot in the semi-finals. However, it looked as if he got ran out of luck much earlier than he hoped, as his challenger, Domingo, impressed the judges more, with his answer.
During the Beklamation round, both contenders are given the same question to answer. The question can either be a ‘playtime’ or a serious one. The reigning queen, Romero, picked the playtime question. The trick to this question is by dealing with it with both wit and humor, which was what Domingo exactly did.
He argued that people have no way of knowing whether or not ants are having a hard time getting by with their lives, despite working hard, because humans do not communicate with ants in a spoken language. He said, however, that ants are known for their discipline, which is the reason why they don’t get lost when traveling and always follow a straight line.
Romero, meanwhile, answered the question by arguing that ants live together under the principle of unity, even amid the challenges of poverty. He also noted that the Filipino people should follow such an example.
That seems where Romero’s luck fell short, as he answered it the way a serious question will be answered.
All the judges agreed that both contestants conveyed great points, but the two judges Ruffa Gutierrez and Jervi Li, a.k.a. Kaladkaren, notably had contrasting sentiments on the answer provided by a daily contender, Romero.
The answer seemed to have caught the attention of all the judges, but Gutierrez and Kaladkaren had opposing takes on Romero’s answer.
“Tama yan, ang mga langgam may unity. Unity talaga ang kailangan natin, lalo na ngayon na ang daming bash lang nang bash.
“(You’re correct in saying ants have unity. Unity is really what we need, especially now when people just bash you for no good reason),” Gutierrez told Domingo.
Kaladkaren, who sat that day as the head of the judging panel, offered a different take.
“Ang mga tao parang langgam. Di ba ‘yung mga mahihirap nating mga kababayan, kahit anong hirap nila sa pagtatrabaho, hindi pa rin sila umaasenso because of bad systems?
“(Humans are like ants. They’re like our indigent countrymen who are stuck at being poor despite working very hard, because of bad systems),” she said.
On Twitter, netizens gave their take on the question, but what they have to say about the judges’ clashing sentiments seems to have generated bigger attention.
“be a KaladKaren in this world full of Ruffa G,” said Jeremiah, who attached a screenshot and lines of the two judges to his tweet.
https://twitter.com/itsmejeremias/status/1557272676905152514
Offred, meanwhile noted the stark difference between Kaladkaren and Gutierrez’s answers.
“Yung isa coming from privilege, very detached and shallow, but yung isa very grounded. @jervijervi Ms KaladKaren, thank you for this. Linamon mo yung shunga.” his tweet reads.
Yung isa coming from privilege, very detached and shallow, but yung isa very grounded.@jervijervi Ms KaladKaren, thank you for this. Linamon mo yung shunga. https://t.co/1bmnB2C1Zn
— Offred (@ahandmaidstale) August 10, 2022
“Kaladkaren talks about the social injustice ingrained in the system which causes the poor to remain poor until their dying days. Ruffa: Unity. Never matured, still superficial. Tseee! ” said Twitter user, @yxnyxnmahiwaga said.
https://twitter.com/yxnyxnmahiwaga/status/1557313214576222215
Goldwin was all-praise for Kaladkaren for shedding light upon a rarely attended social problem. “
“KALADKAREN SPITTING FACTS so fucking tired and done with people romanticizing poverty. they may not be aware of it but they’re helping maintain systems that keep disenfranchised people the way they are.”
KALADKAREN SPITTING FACTS ✨
so fucking tired and done with people romanticizing poverty. they may not be aware of it but they’re helping maintain systems that keep disenfranchised people the way they are.#ShowtimeGameOn https://t.co/NGroQdxZ48
— auwin (@gldwnpaco) August 10, 2022
Rochelle Domingo won the daily competition and will compete again the following day, until he secures a third win to become a new semi-finalist.
