By Glen Andrea Omandam
Breaux Clerigo prevailed as the first Silliman Idol grand winner from the School of Public Affairs and Governance (SPAG) during its final night on Aug. 22 at the Hibalag stage.
Clerigo finished the competition with “The Greatest Love of All” by Whitney Houston, a classic ballad to convey “her hope for a generation capable of creating change.”
“As someone from SPAG, where we tackle a lot of topics about corruption in the Philippines and outside. I wanted to sing that song specifically to give hope to people that someday, somewhere, someone will make a difference,” she said.
Clerigo said the SPAG Society gave her time to rest from the Hibalag Booth Festival activities to focus on the competition.
“I feel so honored to hold the banner of SPAG in such a big competition in Silliman. And I hope that someday more competitions come and more SPAGgies also join,” she said.
Moverover, Clerigo dedicated the win to her mother and sister, who raised her as a single parent and supported her since before her stint in the hit-singing competition Tawag ng Tanghalan.
The SPAG singer previously won as a daily winner on It’s Showtime’s “Tawag ng Tanghalan: The School Showdown,” representing Canloan City last June 25.
“Every single performance I have ever since I was younger until now, my number one inspiration will always be my mom and my sister. Without [their] support, I wouldn’t even be here in Silliman, much less in bigger stages,” she said.
This year’s finalists are Mariant Tacalan and Eliza Bansuela who placed as first and second runner-ups, respectively, while Kessiya Silva and Mhourieckha Maraña followed as the third and fourth runner-up.
Meanwhile, Silliman Idol 2026 Chairpersons Deorafe Basong and Audrey Pangan said the competition drew more auditionees than last year.
“For this year, we had I think around 38 auditionees, around 30 to 40, which is more than last year. So, we’re really happy with the turnout for the auditions and they were all so good,” Pangan said.
Judges selected 13 semi-finalists for the elimination round, more than the usual ten, following a “tough selection process” from the panel.
This year’s venue for the elimination round was also changed to Robinson’s Place,Dumaguete.
Basong mentioned they faced difficulties coordinating with the sound system and tech, delays during the technical rehearsal, and errors during the final night.
“I think the biggest difficulty in preparations for the Silliman Idols Final Night is we weren’t met, our efforts weren’t met with the same competency […] I would also like to state that those difficulties were really preventable,” she said.
The annual singing competition held during the Hibalag Booth Festival is organized by the Kapunungan Sa Mga Mass Communicators.
