Just as the celebrity housemates were starting to recover from an emotionally exhausting set of Big Intensity tasks, another round of tears and goodbyes filled the "Pinoy Big Brother Celebrity Collab Edition" house. The 5th eviction episode on Saturday, May 31, saw two housemates leave the competition—Sparkle’s Vince Maristela and Star Magic’s Xyriel Manabat—after garnering the lowest number of votes from the 'taumbayan.'
Based on the voting results, Will Ashley led the Sparkle bracket with 33.09% of the votes, followed by Dustin Yu (25.20%) and Mika Salamanca (22.10%). Charlie Fleming, who just returned to the house after winning the wildcard round two weeks ago, narrowly escaped eviction with 10.35% while Vince landed at the bottom with 9.26%.
Over at the Star Magic side, Brent Manalo (32.05%) and Bianca De Vera (30.49%) secured the top spots, while Klarisse De Guzman (19.58%) and River Joseph (13.83%) followed. Sadly, it was Xyriel who received the lowest support at just 4.06%.
Vince’s departure felt like an emotional blow, especially after showing his sincerity and selflessness during recent tasks. His ‘softie’ moments with fellow housemates had sure earned him a special place in the group. Emotions also poured out the moment Xyriel's name was announced. Her presence may have been quiet, but her thoughtful contributions showed in every task she went through with her co-housemates.
This week also put the housemates’ strength and adaptability to the test, starting with being relocated to a “Secret Room.” Stripped of their usual comforts, they had to endure an unfamiliar space with limited access to food and personal items they’d grown used to. This pushed them to rely on each other for support and motivation.
This also led to the launch of this week’s “Balik-Bahay” task, where the housemates with immunity were given a chance to bring their nominated co-housemates back into the main house. In this challenge, joined by houseguest Jane de Leon, they had to build a tower using plastic cups that were tall enough to match the height of the housemate they wanted to bring back. Once the tower reached the required height, they had to carefully place a small figure representing that housemate on top. They needed to carry the tower, with the figure balanced on top, and make it pass through a mini version of the “PBB” house, making sure the figure successfully entered through the tiny door, without toppling the entire structure.
The goal was to complete the task for all ten nominated housemates. Only then would they be officially back into the main house. Unfortunately, they ran out of time just as they reached the final housemate—Dustin. After all their effort, the group fell short of completing the task, which meant losing their budget for the coming week. Despite the outcome, Big Brother still allowed Dustin to re-enter the house. Several housemates got sentimental when Kuya imparted the deeper meaning behind the “Secret Room” and “Balik-Bahay” tasks. “Ang tanging yaman na inyong panghahawakan ay ang inyong samahan,” he told them.
That "samahan" was deeply felt in the bond they built with houseguest Jane. That’s why Jane got emotional when she left the house last Saturday, but our new-gen Darna knew it wouldn’t be the last time they’d see each other, and that one day, they’d all reunite in the outside world.
Alongside Jane this week was fellow houseguest Bianca Umali, who also grew emotional at the end of her “PBB” stint, which she dedicated to her late mother. Before leaving the house, Bianca received a gift from Big Brother, which is a nameplate with her mom’s name engraved on it. Earlier in the week, Bianca had shared that her mom, who passed away due to cancer, was a big fan of the show. So, receiving that nameplate felt like having her mom as her duo in her “PBB” experience.
Speaking of duos, the big question now is who will end up as Final Duos in the coming days. Bonds are being tested, and the pressure to secure a spot in the Big Night is higher than ever.
Catch "PBB Celebrity Collab Edition," airing weeknights at 10:00 p.m. and on weekends at 6:15 p.m. via GMA Network. Viewers can also watch it online via live streams on Pinoy Big Brother’s YouTube channel, Kapamilya Online Live (KOL), and iWant.