In a media landscape dominated by entertainment loveteams, gimmicky noontime game shows, and celebrities imprisoned in a panoptic house, the quiet return of quiz bee formats in the Philippines, such as “Bilyonaryo Quiz B,” feels almost out of place yet oddly necessary.
Hosted by veteran quizmaster David Celdran, the show has slowly garnered attention due to its attempt to reintroduce a form of intellectual competition to popular culture. The show follows a classic quiz bee format similar to Battle of the Brains, with two rounds of fast-paced, buzzer-based questions from six categories: History, Science and Technology, Arts and Literature, Math and Logic, Geography and Nature, and General Information.
In this edition, three college students compete every week. Episode winners advance to the semifinals, and the emerging winner from each semifinal bracket competes in the grand finale, where one of them becomes a millionaire.
No sponsors are mentioned by Celdran during the segment, but they are plastered on the screen, accompanied by the “Bilyonaryo Quiz B’s” backdrop before the show starts. It airs on the Bilyonaryo News Channel (Channel 31) on free TV, owned by Prage Management Corporation, a company known for spotlighting Filipino billionaires.
Seemingly enough, the rather intellectual and gamified nature of the show’s format aids in reviving the subgenre of quiz bees, in the hopeful pursuit of fostering intellectual engagement. Yet as the episodes air, it is observed that the current college student contestants appear "less polished" compared to quiz bee participants from earlier decades. In one episode, none could name the Cavite Mutiny as the event that led to GomBurZa’s execution. In another, wild guesses for the body structure with 46 units in humans consisted of “limbs” and “brains.”
While it’s only fair to credit on-the-spot pressure for some of these blunders, the way the contestants answer the questions and the reactions they’ve sparked shed light on deeper questions about the current state of our education system.
Fact or Bluff: There is an Education Crisis
Survey says: the Philippines currently suffers a grave education crisis. A report by Inquirer discussed the country’s poor Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) results as the compounded effects of lost days in education, faulty policies, and inadequate government funding.
Beyond these effects, there has also been a growing disconnection between education and civic consciousness, driven by the commodification of learning, the rise of diploma mills, and neoliberal curricular reforms that prioritize “efficiency” and technical skills over critical, holistic education. Under the current administration, this disconnection is further deepened by continued budget cuts to state universities, calls for market-driven education by shortening college education, and embedding GEs in senior high school.
These are merely exhibitions of what Paolo Freire criticizes as the “banking model,” or a system where students are treated as passive receptacles who receive information rather than actively engaging with knowledge. In this model, obedience is valued over inquiry, and instead of nurturing students to think critically and reflect on social realities, the status quo trains students to simply absorb and comply. In “Pedagogy of the Oppressed,” Freire believes that developing critical consciousness is essential for students to recognize the system’s flaws and stimulate motivation to stimulate change.
For some, the lethal combination of academic neglect, systemic inequality, and transactional models of neoliberal education reveals itself in how the college participants answered questions on “Bilyonaryo Quiz B”.
Pilipinas, Game Ka Na Ba?
Only a few shows have held as much cultural weight in the Philippines as “Battle of the Brains” during the 1990s. It was a game show that was packaged as entertainment, while celebrating academic grit and breadth. It was even dubbed as a “cultural torchstone” in a 2021 article, as it was parodied by a gag show, which cemented its place as a modern Filipino TV classic.
Relatively, popular game show formats today have largely shifted toward more gimmick-laden and entertainment-heavy approaches. The Philippine adaptation of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” adds dramatic flair and suspense, while shows like TV 5’s “Quizmosa” pivot entirely to celebrity culture, testing contestants not on science or history, but on showbiz gossip.
These newer game shows transformed the format once led by the classic “Battle of the Brains” as questions became simpler, topics more general, and celebrities took center stage. Since post-EDSA, commercial entertainment media in the Philippines have shaped a robust public centered around televised content that rewards visibility, emotional resonance, and celebrity appeal, according to a 2021 study by Anna Pertierra.
Furthermore, the digital age has been a paradox, where people have the world’s information in their pockets, but less time to appreciate it, as entertainment has been quick, loud, and attention-grabbing. Coupled with the rise of artificial intelligence, disinformation, and fake news, the digital age’s chilling environment only deepens intellectual apathy, making it harder for curiosity and inquiry to take root among users.
The Economics of Entertainment and Education
The reintroduction of quiz bee formats reflects a desire to see knowledge-based content in mainstream media, often ruled by spectacle. “Bilyonaryo Quiz B” benefits from nostalgia and a simplified format. Still, the show attempts to frame intellect as entertainment, where, as a Bilyonaryo article puts it, knowledge reigns “supreme.” Knowledge is made rewarding, visible, and ultimately commodifiable, with the champion walking away with a million pesos in hand.
Bilyonaryo is a niche platform tied to elite financial moguls. Deciding to produce a quiz show that commodifies knowledge suggests a strategic attempt to tap into the entertainment public sphere by returning intellect into a marketable spectacle. The show aligns with Anna Pertierra’s analysis that the age of digital media has allowed niche outlets like them to generate expanded and engaged “entertainment publics” and potentially shape public discourse.
While shows like “Bilyonaryo Quiz B” could never be the savior of the nation’s dwindling education system, they subserviently become cultural artifacts that wish to break through in a media landscape saturated by speed and spectacle.
In a country with a flawed education system that reduces students to products and exports, a quiz show that promotes inquisitiveness at best may be a representation of wishful thinking—a quiet hope that intellectual engagement and curiosity can still find a place in our nation. ●
First published in the July 28, 2025 print issue of the Collegian.
