On August 19, the popular folk-pop band Ben&Ben took to their official Facebook account to address recent accusations surrounding their performance at FEU Diliman and comments made by Tanya Markova on the podcast Koolpals.
In their statement, Ben&Ben refuted claims that they were responsible for sidelining other artists during their performance, specifically addressing an incident at the "Camanava" grand rally in 2022.
They clarified that any logistical issues at the event were the responsibility of the organizers and not the band. The band emphasized that they, too, were affected by the delays and had even taken the initiative to apologize to the other performers involved, including Tanya Markova, despite not being at fault.
Ben&Ben also condemned the use of homophobic slurs, expressing disappointment over the discriminatory language used during the discussion.
The controversy was reignited following Ben&Ben’s recent performance at FEU Diliman on August 17, where they were accused by netizens of preventing other acts, like Dwta, from performing.
Tanya Markova, during their appearance on the Koolpals podcast, claimed that Ben&Ben’s early stage entry at the 2022 rally disrupted the order of performances, affecting several bands.
Despite the grievances aired by Tanya Markova, Ben&Ben maintained that they had no control over the event's scheduling and had made efforts to resolve the issue in the past.
