Survivor Philippines (season 1) - Twists and Changes

Twists and Changes

Even though this is the first season of the Philippine version, several twists and changes were already incorporated into the game.

• Battle of the Sexes: The castaways were initially divided into tribes based on gender. Jarakay was the all-male tribe while Naak was composed of all females. But this twist didn't last long as a tribe switch occurred in Day 3 just before the first Immunity Challenge.
• Double Elimination Tribal Council: The twist instructed the losing tribe to vote another castaway off after one was already voted off, all occurring in a single Tribal Council. This happened in the 3rd Tribal Council.
• Kidnapping: The tribe who won the Reward Challenge in Cycle 4 had the advantage of kidnapping a member from the opposing tribe, and the abductee would stay there for a day. If the abductee's tribe loses on the next Immunity Challenge, he/she would be exempted from Tribal Council, could not vote and be voted out.
• Cursed and White Pearls: They were roughly the size of a standard billiard ball. During the merge stage, the person voted out, before having his/her torch snuffed out, will receive either one or both of the Pearls and give each Pearl to one of the remaining castaways. The castaway who receives the Cursed Pearl gets one vote in the following Tribal Council. In case the Cursed Pearl is lost, the holder would then receive two votes. In-show, the Cursed Pearl is called the "Black Pearl" (though its actual color is really silver). On the other hand, the White Pearl will have one vote subtracted from the count in the receiver's favor in the next Tribal Council, should at least one such vote comes up.
• Popularity Poll: For the first time in a Survivor franchise, a popularity poll for viewers was launched in which they could vote through SMS which of the Final Two should become the Sole Survivor. This vote would count as the ninth jury vote; the winner of the poll would receive this vote to his/her credit in the final tally.