“Eat Bulaga” contestants apologized for cheating during the “Pinoy Henyo” segment of the noontime variety show this month.
On Valentine’s Day, Ryan Oraño, one of the contestants of “Pinoy Henyo,” has to guess the word “stomach.”
The word-guesser must ask a series of deductive questions, while the other player has to answer, “yes,” “no,” or “maybe.”
A video of their play went viral online after Ryan’s teammate, his girlfriend, Lyka Alburo, was caught on the camera mouthing the word “stomach.”
During the final round of the game, viewers also spotted Ryan mouthing the answer to Lyka.
The couple bagged the prize pool of P30,000 from the game show.
The cheating incident instantly have since become a trending topic on social media, with Lyke now dubbed “stomach girl.”
‘Unintentional’
Following the public outrage, the couple said it was not their intention to cheat.
“Hindi ko po intensyon na sabihin po yung word na ‘stomach.’ Dala lang po ng emosyon, ng intent sa sarili kaya po ganoon po yung nangyari. Pasensya na po kung sa tingin niyo may pandarayang naganap pero hindi ko po intensyong mandaya,” Lyka said in an interview with “Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho”.
“Hindi po ako aware na nasasabi ko po yung word po na yun. Parang na-te-tense po ako na sana, masabi niya (Lyka) po yung pinapahulo sa kanya,” Ryan said.
“Then nung nakita ko po yung video na yun nagulat po ako kasi nasabi ko po pala, unintentionally [yung sagot]. Kaya humihingi po kami ng pasensya po,” he added.
Ryan said they recognized their mistake and they are willing to be held accountable for the consequences of their actions.
“Alam po namin yung mga pagkakamali namin kaya ready po kami na i-bear lahat ng consequences po sa lahat po ng pagkakamali namin,” Ryan said.
“Sa ‘Eat Bulaga,’ sa ‘Pinoy Henyo,’ sa hosts po, humihingi po namin ulit ng pasensya yung mga pangyayari,” he continued.
“Lesson na rin po sa akin ‘to na bawal lesson mo, pagisipan mo ng mabuti,” Lyka said.
‘No fun’
After the viral cheating incident, “Eat Bulaga” hosts talked about how cheating could undermine the fun of the game.
“Sa isang laro, ano ang ginagawa mo para mawala yung saya or fun?” Joey De Leon rhetorically asked.
“Kapag ikaw ay nandaya. Kahit anong laro pa yan, kung nandaya kayo, wala nang fun,” he continued.
“Kaya dapat sa mga ganyan, ‘hindi namin kayo tatantanan.’ Babantayan natin yan,” Jose Manalo jokingly said.
The couple contestant said the management of the variety show did not take back their prize as of writing. They said the cash prize would be spent for home renovation and their studies.