MANILA — Louie Ocampo on Monday made light of a controversial statement from a Tawag ng Tanghalan finalist who called him a “mere composer,” after she was nearly eliminated from the semifinals by the music veteran, who was then sitting as head judge.

Shantal Cuizon was one of the seven aspirants who competed in the recent week-long Quarter 4 semifinals. Her performance last Friday nearly resulted in automatic elimination, as Ocampo counted three mistakes — one more count away from signaling the dreaded banging of the gong.

After the episode of Tawag ng Tanghalan that day, Cuizon, in since deleted tweets, asked for “justice,” and, without mentioning Ocampo, said, “Composer ka lang.”

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Ocampo was not present during the Saturday episode, but Cuizon, upon host Vice Ganda’s mention of her tweets, publicly apologized to the “Kahit Isang Saglit” hitmaker.

Cuizon ultimately failed to secure one of two slots in the grand finals of Tawag ng Tanghalan.

On Monday, Ocampo was back on the judges’ panel for the “Instant Resbak” week of the competition, where “saved” defending champions who did not make it to the semifinals, returned to compete for a chance to enter the grand finals.

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This time, singer Dulce was the head judge, prompting Vice Ganda to joke that that was the case because Ocampo, in light of Cuizon’s tweets, now felt discouraged to lead the panel.

“Sorry, composer lang ako,” Ocampo said, in jest, later in the competition, when he took his turn to give comments on the contenders’ performance.

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By the end of the episode, returning champion Shaina Mae Allaga bested three other contenders to become the day’s winner.

In total, 16 “resbakers” are performing until Thursday, producing one winner per day. The four winners will then compete on Friday, where a final victor will be announced.