Amidst candidates’ preparation for the Star Search 2023, the competition ended midway after several technical issues occurred during the event, as stated by Ateneo SAMAHAN Productions (ASP) Deputy Director Ken Ryle Hinojales.

Each of the clusters has continuously trained and prepared their singers for the competition days before the said event despite the busy schedules of the consecutive Palaro and Sadya 2023. 

However, on the 13th of October, the competition was halted after several technical problems occurred, such as muffled and screeching sound systems, unstable microphones, and overwhelmingly loud music.

“So we decided to cut the program right now because there’s no sense because pangit ang audio, ‘di makadungog ang judges,” Hinojales said to the crowd after the hosts abruptly  wrapped up the event.

In an interview with Atenews, a participant’s parent shared their sentiments on the said event saying that it is so disappointing, especially since her child really gave her best effort to represent their cluster and participate despite her busy schedule for the said competition.

“Paano yan? Sayang yung mga efforts nila ba kagaya nung nangyari sa akin[g] [anak]. Grabe yung effort niya,” the parent added.

The Social Sciences cluster representative Rey Angelo Santella also expressed his disappointment but also added that the blame is not solely on the production and technical team, for there is a possibility that it was their first time to operate at the Finster Auditorium for such a big event.

“I believe the experience or incident that has happened recently was mainly about the unpreparedness of the tech team and also of the productions who were working for this event,” Santella said in an interview.

SAMAHAN, the Ateneo de Davao student body, expressed that they will release a consensual resolution about this issue after consulting all parties involved.