Why Cebuana teen gave up PBB Otso housemate slot

CEBU, Philippines —  Cebuana bet Missy Quiño surprised television audiences when she decided to willingly leave the “Pinoy Big Brother Otso” House last December 29.

After losing the Big Otso task on Dec. 23, Missy, alongside group mates Kaori Oinuma, Lie Reposposa, Reign Parani and Seth Fedelin were up for eviction from the ABS-CBN reality show. In a turn of events, Missy chose to give up her spot and give way to other nominated housemates.

As viewers waited for the eviction results which would reveal the five teen housemates who will leave the house for good on Day 51, little did they know that a decision had already been made.

The Compostela Municipality native began in the show as a Star Dreamer residing in Camp Star Hunt. As a special season, “PBB Otso” presented a different format. Four batches of housemates in the order of teen, adult, another batch of teen, and another adult batch will be introduced and will be staying for eight weeks. With eight slots for official housemates, the other shortlisted 16 will have to compete to get one of the eight official spots to gain entry.

Failing to ace the entrance challenge, Missy was sent to Camp Star Hunt. With other Star Dreamers, she waited for her chance to become an official housemate.

Each time a housemate is evicted, one Star Dreamer crosses over to the “PBB Otso” house to make sure that all eight spots are filled. Likewise, a new Star Dreamer enters Camp Star Hunt. At the end of the cycle, only four housemates will remain for each batch.

Missy, 17, was eventually voted as an official housemate by the public and therefore eligible to become a Big Winner. Yet despite being warmly accepted by the “PBB Otso” housemates during her arrival, Missy, dubbed as “Gandachiever ng Cebu,” got into a lot of thinking. She somehow felt guilty for being a housemate, feeling that there were others more deserving of the spot.

On Dec. 26, the Grade 11 STEM student at the University of San Carlos confided to fellow housemate Kaori how she felt about becoming an official housemate, saying she wouldn’t mind if she didn’t get to cross over at all. Footage of Missy expressing that she was fine with losing challenges and eventually evicted was also shown.

“Ang daming Star Dreamer na mas deserving talaga. Grabe, sila lahat. May isa pa sa kanila na gusto talaga makapasok, mas determinado kaysa sa akin,” Missy told Kaori.

Missy later on entered the Confession Room and explained her sentiments to Big Brother. She said that the other housemates went through more challenges, nominations and evictions and were therefore more deserving of a chance to be part of the Big Four, where the ultimate winner will be reaped from.

“Mas marami po talaga silang napagdaanan. Mas marami po silang pinaglaban tapos lahat po talaga sila may kanya-kanyang role dito. Kahit bago pa lang po ako, tintrato po nila akong pamilya. Handa po talaga akong mag give way sa kanila,” Missy, a consistent honor student whose habit of studying the Bible made rounds on social media and earned her praises, reasoned with the master of the house who respected her decision.

When asked if she meant a voluntary exit, Missy gave the affirmative saying that she was willing to sacrifice her slot for another, a decision she had pondered on for many nights.

The remaining housemates were in for a shock when Big Brother announced that voting had stopped. Eviction had been cancelled and all text votes disregarded upon the voluntary exit of a housemate who remained unnamed.

Fellow housemates were quick to rush to Missy when she stood up to reveal herself as the night’s exiting housemate. The teenagers shared a hug before saying goodbye to Missy who headed to the Confession Room afterwards.

If she had not left the competition, Missy, the first to pull the voluntary exit card for this edition, would have been in the running to become the next Cebuano Big Winner following in the footsteps of past Bisaya victors: Keanna Reeves who won “Pinoy Big Brother: Celebrity Edition 1” in 2006, Kim Chiu who was hailed “Pinoy Big Brother: Teen Edition” Big Winner in the same year and Slater Young, Big Winner of “PBB Unlimited” in 2012.

But Missy wasn’t the only one who pulled a surprise. After saying his parting message, Big Brother told Missy that she will not be leaving the house yet and will become a “house player” alongside other Star Dreamers who will aid Big Brother in testing the remaining PBB housemates.

As the teens’ housemate days almost come to a close, the reality show will be introducing adult housemates soon. One winner will be chosen from each batch and these four winners will return to the “PBB Otso” house alongside four more housemates from previous batches chosen by public voting to form a new set of eight housemates where one Big Winner will be chosen.