It’s Showtime’s annual Magpasikat competition has always been a playground of creativity for its hosts, a tradition of outdoing each other’s death-defying stunts and outlandish concepts. This year, however, the hosts had to recalibrate what Magpasikat meant to them in light of the ongoing pandemic.
Instead, the hosts eschewed competition to mark the show’s 11th anniversary last Oct. 31. For Magpasikat 2020, their performances were noticeably modest yet moving, as they put the spotlight on ordinary Filipinos and highlighted the struggles, triumphs and resilience of our kababayan amid the challenges brought about by the pandemic.
The Magpasikat celebration offered entertainment and service to the madlang people as the four competing teams won P100,000 each for their chosen beneficiaries, which served as the highlight of their performances. For the first time, all of the teams were named winners.
The team of Karylle, Jhong Hilario and Ion Perez depicted Filipinos, who were able to find creative ways to earn money after losing their source of livelihood during the quarantine.
Drawing inspiration from real people’s experiences for their performance, the team also offered financial help to a jeepney driver to jumpstart his carinderia business, provided a laptop and Internet connection to a balut vendor and donated an e-tricycle to an ice cream vendor to help with his online store.
Jugs Jugueta, Teddy Corpuz.and Ryan Bang, meanwhile, staged a “battle of the bands” to highlight the devastating impact of the pandemic on musicians and workers in the live events industry. Hoping we can rakenrol again soon, the group composed an original song called Gumaganda Na Ang Panahon, and was joined by Anne Curtis, apl.de.ap, Raymund Marasigan, Ebe Dancel, Kitchie Nadal and members of December Avenue, This Band, I Belong to the Zoo and Soapdish for its performance.
Team Jugs-Teddy-Ryan also featured Filipino roadies, people who set up and maintain equipment for musicians during live events, and said they would donate their cash prizes to them through the organization Roadies Club PH.
Upping the ante was Team Vhong Navarro, Amy Perez and Jackie Gonzaga, who paid tribute to teachers’ heroism by showing their struggles at home and while doing their job.
Their act, which featured expertly choreographed movements against changing visuals on a green screen, showed different stories of teachers who remain committed to educating their students through distance learning and juggle their responsibilities at home during the quarantine. At the end of their performance, the group said it would donate its cash prize to the teachers and gave them a portable media library from Knowledge Channel.
For their part, Vice Ganda and Kim Chiu sent a message of hope to everyone whose mental health has been affected by the pandemic and stressed that people have different ways of coping with grief.
While Vice belted out songs, Kim, a Magpasikat first-timer, poured her heart and emotions into an interpretative dance routine that represented how sadness gets the best of us. Their beneficiary is Youth for Mental Health Coalition, a group that seeks to raise mental health awareness.
The show’s Magpasikat 2020 celebration also spread good vibes to the madlang people, as each team gifted P11,000 to lucky viewers who watched the live episode.
Filipinos tuned in to the Magpasikat performances as the live episode of It’s Showtime earned over a million views on Kapamilya Online Live and Showtime Online on Facebook and YouTube and became a top trending topic on Twitter in the Philippines and worldwide. Other viewers also watched the show via Kapamilya Channel on cable TV, iWant TFC and A2Z Channel 11.
Throughout their week-long anniversary celebration, the hosts would tell the madlang people, “We’re still together… There will be better days.” And so their Magpasikat performances may have depicted today’s grim reality and how the pandemic has forever changed our lives. Still, their message is clear, hopeful and reassuring: Now more than ever, we should look out for one another and help each other in whatever way we can.