ROBI Domingo
TV host Robi Domingo put on hold his medical studies after being tapped to be one of the hosts of the latest season of the reality show “Pinoy Big Brother” on ABS-CBN.
Robi, 22, is set to finish a premed course, Health and Sciences, at the Ateneo de Manila University in March. (His dad is a general surgeon and his mother, a company doctor for the Social Security System.)
“I was told that all our tapings would be in the afternoon,” said Robi, who scheduled his classes in the morning so they would not get in the way of his hosting chores.
Robi and Martin Concio, son of ABS-CBN president Charo Santos-Concio, are the latest additions to the “PBB” team. Toni Gonzaga and Bianca Gonzales are still the main hosts. Former cohost Mariel Rodriguez transferred to TV5 in October. The program began airing on October 29.
“I have no idea why I was picked,” Robi told the Philippie Daily Inquirer during the show’s launch. “When Direk Lauren (Dyogi, also the network’s business unit head director) told me the news, I was surprised. I smiled throughout that meeting. This was something I had dreamed of doing.”
Bigger challenge
Robi knows “PBB” could open other opportunities. “After this, I could be tapped to work on other programs. This is big,” he pointed out. “If I bungle the job, at least I would end my show biz career with the biggest bang ever.”
He has known Martin, who used to host “Music Uplate Live,” for sometime. “Kapatid ko ’yon. We’re both Ateneans. When I learned we’d be working together, I was glad that we’d get to bond some more.”
Robi was first runner-up in “PBB Teen Edition Plus,” which aired in 2008. Shortly after that, he joined the cast of “My Girl” and became a MYX VJ. He is a regular in the Sunday variety show “ASAP,” as member of the dance group Gigger Boys. In 2010 he was seen in two Star Cinema films, “Cinco” and “Paano Na Kaya?”
The former housemate considers hosting “PBB” a bigger challenge to his hosting skills. “When I met with the producer and head scriptwriter, I was advised to review my high school Filipino books,” he said. “We’re encouraged to speak more Filipino on the show.”
He added that his fear was to stutter during live performances: “I would be in front of thousands of people, I can’t be nervous. I have to show everyone that Direk was right in choosing me.”
He hopes to contribute “fresh” ideas to the show. He explained: “For example, I’m active in social networking sites so I can put that in the ball game. Being a former housemate, I can empathize with the contestants. I came from nowhere, lived an ordinary life. I didn’t know anything about camera angling. I can give a different perspective because I’m a product of the show.”
Robi used to dream of becoming a good actor, like the late Rico Yan, but changed his mind. “We already have a lot of actors but hardly any good hosts. I thought, why don’t I work on being one, become the next Ryan Agoncillo or Luis Manzano? After these guys graduate from hosting, may pwede nang pumalit sa kanila.”
E-mail mcruz@inquirer.com.ph