GomBurZa trends after Pinoy Big Brother teens mistakenly call martyred priests 'MaJoHa' in history quiz bee
Reality show Pinoy Big Brother recently held a series of quizzes for its teen housemates, and one particular round trended online because of how the contestants answered.
During the history round, the teen participants were asked trivia questions about the Philippines such as how many colors there are on the flag and which former president is on the P20 bill. Another question that was asked was about the country's Filipino martyr priests GomBurZa, who were executed by Garrote during the Spanish occupation.
Host Robi Domingo quizzed two of the housemates with: "Sina Mariano Gomez, Jose Burgos, at Jacinto Zamora ay mas kilala sa tawag na ____."
The housemates mistakenly answered the question by combining the three priests' first names instead of their last names, saying "MaJoHa."
One of their other teammates on the benches was mouthing "GomBurZa," but the two teens answering failed to get it right.
Exclusive na pampa-good vibes just for you Team Online and Kumunity: Kai at Gabb, binigyan ng bagong tawag ang GOMBURZA!
— Pinoy Big Brother (@PBBabscbn) April 10, 2022
Abangan ang resulta ng weekly task ng mga Teen Housemates mamaya, 7pm sa sa A2Z Channel, iWantTFC, TFC, KC, KOL & Jeepney TV #PBBTeen2ndEviction pic.twitter.com/IP9WMRLMfY
GomBurZa, then, began trending on Twitter Philippines on April 11, with netizens reacting to the quiz bee and calling for the reopening of schools.
"GomBurZa is literally the easiest thing you would know in Philippine history, Nakaka-disappoint. It feels like our history is in crisis. It makes me horrified that this generation could easily forget our history," one user wrote.
GomBurZa is literally the easiest thing u would know in Phil history. Nakaka disappoint. Pero kung k-drama yan or oppa, memorize pa pati full name.
— 🥃The Cosmos ⚫ (@cosmoses__) April 10, 2022
It feels like our history is in crisis. It makes me horrified that this generation. could easily forget our history.
"Open the schools @deped," said another.
open the schools @DepEd_PH pic.twitter.com/uWOnF3Lokf
— Netizen Patroller (@scorsaguin) April 10, 2022
"I know we're laughing and having fun but this reflects how poorly our education system has come to. Though the young ones also have the responsibility to learn, there must be a disconnect in the way they are learning if something as simple as GomBurZa is not retained," commented another user.
i know we’re laughing and having fun but this reflects how poorly our education system has come to. though the young ones also have the responsibility to learn but there must be a disconnect in the way they are learning if something as simple as gomburza is not retained https://t.co/zOI1yALgMQ
— lou 📌 (@hiphoplalisa) April 11, 2022
Historian Kristoffer Pasion also commented on the video, saying, "We have so much work to do. It's not just Martial Law. If we let things be with people never making sense of the whys of history, some troll will fill the gap for them."
150 years after the martyrdom of the GOMBURZA, they have been renamed as MAJOHA. 🥲
— Kristoffer Pasion (@indiohistorian) April 11, 2022
We have so much work to do. It’s not just Martial Law. If we let things be w/ people never making sense of the whys of history, some troll will fill the gap for them.pic.twitter.com/9U087kIIpc
The term "SLEX" also began trending as the teens answered this to a question on which bridge in the Philippines is considered the longest. The other contestant was able to answer San Juanico Bridge correctly.
One user pointed out that the teens should not be at fault, but rather the education system.
"Wag sisihin ang mga bagets kung di nila kilala ang GomBurZa. Sisihin ang matatanda na nagtanggal ng kasaysayan sa curriculum, ang DepEd na sablay ang pagtuturo sa kakarampot na kasaysayan sa school, at ang buong sistema ng edukasyon na nagpo-produce ng automatons," one user wrote.
Wag sisihin ang mga bagets kung di nila kilala ang GomBurZa. Sisihin ang matatanda na nagtanggal ng kasaysayan sa curriculum, ang DepEd na sablay ang pagtuturo sa kakarampot na kasaysayan sa school, at ang buong sistema ng edukasyon na nagpo-produce ng automatons.
— Jerry B. Grácio (@JerryGracio) April 11, 2022
Another stressed that the mistake shouldn't be a reason to call the teens derogatory names.
although it is valid to be disappointed on gabb and kai's performance on that history quiz bee kasi nga its a very basic question abt basic phil history it should not be a justification for you to call them b0b0, st00pid and such derogatory names :)) kaloka
— kaixine's gf (@aespbb) April 11, 2022
Another question that was asked was about the other name Filipina revolutionary Melchora Aquino was known as, to which the teens answered "Ninoy Aquino" and "Nanay ng bansa."
They were also quizzed about national hero Dr. Jose Rizal's nickname. One of the contestants said it was "J. Rizal," while the other correctly answered "Pepe."
Domingo commented on the quiz bee as the answers went viral. "Sa una nakakatuwa pero habang tumatagal, di na nakakatuwa. Sana imaging daan ito para makita kung ano ang kakulangan sa sistema ng rating edukasyon," he tweeted.
"Sa lahat ng content creators, let's battle #Majoha," the host added.
Sa una, nakakatawa pero habang tumatagal, di na nakakatuwa. Sana maging daan ito para makita kung ano ang kakulangan sa sistema ng ating edukasyon.
— Robi Domingo (@robertmarion) April 12, 2022
Sa lahat ng content creators, let's battle #MaJoHa. https://t.co/EWee7uZvZ5
Currently, Araling Panlipunan is part of the Department of Education's curriculum for Grade 1 to 10 students. However, they removed Philippine history subjects in the senior high school curriculum. Meanwhile, Filipino subjects have been removed as core subjects at the college level by the Commission on Higher Education.