Meet the Teen PBB housemates

By Jerry Donato
The Philippine Star

The new Pinoy Big Brother housemates for its teen edition are showbiz material, judging from their looks and the way they project on the small screen. Most of them come from reputable schools like Ateneo, Assumption and Colegio de San Agustin.

This batch is ABS-CBN’s answer to young talents who transferred networks or opted for co-management. The new housemates could give ABS-CBN’s teen idols a run of their money.

The housemates were chosen from over 300,000 teenaged applicants from the nationwide preliminary auditions where the show’s Business Unit Head Laurenti Dyogi personally hand-picked the present batch.

The guy believed to be Kuya, himself doused cold water over the rumors, preferring not to be visible these days to prove his point.

Dyogi has distanced himself from interviews or promos of the auditions, which has produced eight housemates from Metro Manila, three from Davao and one from Cebu. Their identities were revealed in a party cum show last Sunday with new hosts Mariel Rodriguez (in charge of the primetime telecast) and PBB Celebrity Edition runner-up Bianca Gonzalez (Uplate and Update).

The teen housemates will be grounded for six weeks with tasks to fulfill every day and every week. On June 3, the new winner will emerge and take home a P1-M grand prize.

So let’s roll the red carpet and meet the teen housemates one by one:

• Gerald Anderson, 17, is an American boy from General Santos. He is your typical boy-next-door who loves basketball. He considers the sport his life and passion. As PBB housemate, he hopes to learn all the house chores Kuya will give him. His edge over the others, says Gerald, is his being true to himself.

•Niña Atienza, 17, comes from Assumption Convent. A dead-ringer for Iya Villania, Niña describes herself as one who is sosyal outside but jologs inside. According to her, she joined PBB for two reasons: to help her family’s finances and prove something for herself.

• Mikee Lee, 16, is an Atenean. He not only has good looks, but the brains to match. The guy is a geek. His grade in Math is 99. The bemedalled student ranks fourth in his class and values education and family a lot.

• Kim Chiu, 16, is a Cebuana. She joined the reality show to help her family and be discovered as an actress. She acts, sings and dances.

•Bam Romana, 16, is the house clown. A Centro Escolar University student, Bam is playful and loves to crack jokes. Aside from winning, his mission is make his housemates and Kuya laugh and laugh.

• Olyn Membian, 16, is a gimikera. This fashionista loves to live it up. She is also into singing, dancing and acting.

• Fred Payawan, 17, has the build of a hunk. Tall, dark and handsome, this CAT (Citizen’s Army Training) officer at Colegio de San Agustin is into hosting and photography. Just like his military dad, he values discipline in mind, heart and body.

• Clare Cabiguin, used to join beauty contests to support her family in Bukidnon. Her ambition is to be part of showbiz.

• Aldred Gatchalian, 16, is another hunk. This class valedictorian from Parañaque is also a good cook. A good singer, Aldred says he’s not afraid of anything. So Kuya should be ready.

• Mikki Arceo, 18, takes pride in her independent-mindedness. She will do what she wants even if this doesn’t conform the beliefs of others. She says she has no pretentions.

• Matt Evans, 17, is a Boy 2 Quizon look-alike. His sharp features betray his Fil-Am lineage. Matt played a bit role in Kampanerang Kuba. He loves rock music.

• Jamilla Obispo, 18, is a single mom. She joined the show to raise funds for her son, who needs five operations to correct a cleft palate and cleft lip. Like all moms, she wants to give her son a normal life.