The Amazing Race Philippines

The Race

The Amazing Race Philippines is a reality television competition between eleven teams of two in a race around the Philippines. The race is divided into a number of legs wherein teams travel and complete various tasks to obtain clues to help them progress to a Pit Stop where they are given a chance to rest and recover before starting the next leg twelve hours later. The first team to arrive at a Pit Stop is often awarded a prize while the last team is normally eliminated from the race (except in non-elimination legs). The final leg of each race is run by the last three remaining teams, and the first to arrive at the final destination wins the ₱2 million cash prize.

Teams

Each team is composed of two individuals who have some type of relationship to each other. A total of 22 participants have joined The Amazing Race Philippines, some of which have been local celebrities.

Casts must be at least 21 years old, and must be a Filipino citizen or a permanent resident of the Philippines for at least two years.

Among the cast of the first season are Danielle Castaño, who represented the Philippines in the Miss World 2008 pageant; Raymund Vergara, a Mister Philippines 2003 World contestant; LJ Moreno, a former Pinoy Fear Factor contestant; Jervi Li and Saida Diola, former part of a Philippines noontime show Eat Bulaga;, football players Armand and Anton del Rosario, and PTV's NewsLife anchor Angel Movido.

Route Markers

Route Markers are yellow and red flags that mark the places where teams must go. Most Route Markers are attached to the boxes that contain clue envelopes, but some may mark the place where the teams must go in order to complete tasks, or may be used to line a course that the teams must follow.

Obstacles

Teams may encounter the following that may affect their position during the race:

In the first season of The Amazing Race Philippines, the local version introduced the Anonymous Yield, wherein the team who chooses to Yield another team does not have to reveal their identity.

Legs

At the beginning of each leg, teams receive an allowance of cash to cover expenses during the race (except for the purchase of airline tickets, which are paid-for by credit cards provided to the teams).

Teams then have to follow clues and Route Markers that will lead them to the various destinations and tasks they will face. Modes of travel between these destinations include commercial and chartered airplanes, boats, taxis, buses, and rented vehicles provided by the show, or the teams may simply travel by foot. Each leg ends with a twelve-hour Pit Stop where teams are able to rest and where teams that arrive last are progressively eliminated from the race until only three remain. In some legs, the first teams to arrive at the Pit Stop win prizes, usually from the show's sponsors, and some passes that will give them advantages in the race:

Non-elimination Legs

A non-elimination leg is when the last team to arrive at the Pit Stop is not eliminated and is allowed to continue on the race. The Amazing Race Philippines, along with the French version, were the first versions of the race that did not penalize the last team to arrive in a non-elimination leg since the incorporation of the non-elimination penalties in season 5 of the American Version. This occurred in the third leg of the first season. However, in the seventh and eleventh legs, the "Marked for Elimination" penalty was applied to the last team arriving on a non-elimination leg. Meaning, teams had to arrive first at the next leg or receive a 30-minute time penalty.

Rules and penalties

Most of the rules and penalties are adopted from the American edition.

One of the most notable penalties was the penalty received by Anton & Armand in the second leg of the first season. Anton & Armand initially arrived 4th at the second Pit Stop of the race, but were issued a 24-hour time penalty for contacting someone outside the race. They dropped to 10th place and were eliminated.

Places visited

As of the second season, The Amazing Race Philippines has visited 14 cities and 10 municipalities in 13 provinces across the Philippines.¹

Number of times visited

The following are the number of times the provinces are visited by The Amazing Race Philippines. Note that Metro Manila is not a province but a cluster of cities, though it will be classified under it. Independent cities will also be classified under their associated provinces, although they are not officially part of that province.²

By Province

Television ratings

Television ratings for The Amazing Race Philippines on TV5 are based from two firms, AGB Nielsen and Kantar Media - TNS. AGB Nielsen mostly covers Mega Manila, while Kantar Media - TNS covers mostly of the Philippines.