‘Eat Bulaga!’ has publicly admitted to announcing the wrong winner during the grand finals of its popular singing competition, ‘OPM Female Clones,’ held on Saturday, July 19, 2025.
Initially, Rachel Clemente—hailed as the vocal clone of Sharon Cuneta—was declared the grand winner. Rochelle Santos, who mimicked the voice of Dulce, placed second, while Jazharra Ungui, the 14-year-old Claire dela Fuente sound-alike, was named third.
However, four days later, on the July 23 episode of ‘Eat Bulaga!’, host Allan K addressed the error before the start of the ‘OPM Male Clones’ segment, issuing a formal apology on behalf of the show’s hosts and production team.
“Habang may panahon tayo na ituwid ang isang pagkakamali, gagawin po natin ‘yan,” Allan K said. “Higit po ang aming pagpapahalaga sa desisyon ng mga judges noong Sabado.”
Allan K revealed that based on the actual scores from the judges—who included K Brosas, Lani Misalucha, Mitoy Yonting, Sheryn Regis, Jimmy Antiporda, Fe delos Reyes, and Mitch Valdes—Santos was the rightful grand winner. Ungui ranked second, and Clemente came in third.
“Second runner-up, Rachel Clemente, ang ka-voice ni Sharon Cuneta,” Allan announced. “Ang first runner-up po ay si Jazharra Ungui, ang ka-voice ni Claire dela Fuente.”
He then called Rochelle Santos onstage to perform her winning piece, ‘Ako ang Nasawi, Ako ang Nagwagi,’ officially recognizing her as the grand winner.
When fellow host Joey de Leon asked what went wrong, Allan K admitted that a mix-up with the cue cards led to the error. “Ang nangyari po kasi, noong Sabado, e, nagkapalit-palit ang mga pangalan sa cue card during the announcement of winners,” he explained. “Parang Steve Harvey na ano, basta.”
The reference was to the infamous 2015 Miss Universe gaffe, where Steve Harvey mistakenly announced the wrong winner.
“We deeply apologize to the contestants and to our loyal Dabarkads,” Allan added. “Umasa po kayo na the show will always value integrity, honesty, and fairness in all competitions and decisions.”
Despite the correction, the backlash from viewers—particularly on social media—has continued. Many fans believed Rochelle Santos or Jazharra Ungui deserved to win and were frustrated by the initial error. Others took issue with the judging process and rehearsal footage comparisons, claiming that Clemente’s performance was stronger during rehearsals than the finals.
Although the show has now officially recognized Santos as the winner, neither ‘Eat Bulaga!’ nor Clemente has released further statements regarding the controversy. The pioneer trio of TVJ—Tito Sotto, Vic Sotto, and Joey de Leon—have also come under fire from netizens, despite having no direct involvement in the judging.
