The incident highlights the noontime show and other similar programs’ role in addressing societal issues such as budget mismanagement in government.
Netizens went abuzz during the airing of ABS-CBN’s noontime show, It’s Showtime, today, March 4. This is because, once again, something that has been keeping social media talking recently, was tackled in the show. Has the Vice Ganda-led noontime program become a full-fledged social commentary show? Given the many times it has found itself on top of trending topics online, because of the various incidents where its hosts talked about current socio-political issues on air, netizens unsurprisingly think so.
During the episode, Vice Ganda engaged studio players in a mini-game, where special cash prizes are to be distributed. The game involved answering a question given by the host. The question was about a government agency assigned in construction, and maintaining infrastructural projects—DPWH. Incidentally, the question coincides ongoing debates in politics and online, about the recent collapse of a massive bridge in Isabela province, which highlighted the ongoing issues of government mismanagement. It prompted Vice to briefly discuss the incident, and address the structural failure of the bridge, which was touted as a flagship project under former President Rodrigo Duterte’s ‘Build, Build, Build’ initiative. What caught the attention of viewers and netizens, however, is when Darren Espanto, who also serves as one of the hosts of the show, sung the viral “si Mark tahimik lang” line, alluding to the Senator and former DPWH chief, Mark Villar’s lack of comment on the issue. The line was notably a catchphrase which Villar used during his senatorial campaign, in 2022.
The bridge, constructed during the tenure of then, Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary, Mark Villar, was highly regarded as a symbol of progress during Duterte’s time, but it now seems a stark reminder of failures in structural maintenance. Completed in 2019 and costing more than ₱1.2 billion, the Cabagan-Sta. Maria bridge in Isabela, seems to be yet another major chip in various claim dubbing the previous administration’s big infrastructural projects, a resounding success.
How the topic was brought up on the show seems to Vice Ganda and other hosts’ expression of their concerns about the implication of such incidents on public safety, and it generated an overwhelmingly positive response from viewers and netizens, with many commending Espanto for that ‘shade’ he made, and also Vice, for being practically at the forefront of raising social awareness. Many netizens praised the show for using its platform to discuss pressing sociopolitical issues, calling out local government units, as well as the national government in their shortcomings, and championing accountability in public service.
https://twitter.com/DCALOOCANFAMILY/status/1896797052883112020?s=19
Uy D Anu yun…narinig namin yun…ahaha..
may pagkanta pa sya ih…"si mark tahimik lang"#ShowtimeForTheVibes#DARREN @Espanto2001 pic.twitter.com/A4sdvo1HSz— m.kat.ager – D Voting Team (@dte_0625) March 4, 2025
Taena biglang naisingit sa Showtime yung nasirang tulay sa Isabela tas kumanta si Darren ng “Si Mark tahimik lang” hahahaha the shaaaade.
— NAT (@jnsnatt) March 4, 2025
That It’s Showtime has increasingly become a space where entertainment meets advocacy, is also reflected in the fact how Vice recently received commendations online, for addressing the systemic educational crisis, in the country, following a Sexy Babe contestant’s admission that she doesn’t know what the Commission on Elections (COMELEC), stands for and what its functions are.
As debates around infrastructure accountability and educational crisis persist, audiences are reminded that even in entertaining formats, vital conversations take place, urging netizens to remain informed and proactive in addressing societal challenges.
