Feeling lost in ‘PGT’?

Resilient TV and entertainment enterprise ABS-CBN has just revealed its course of action on how to keep visible its top box office asset and reactivate a foreign show whose Philippine franchise it owns but it has kept in idle for some years now.

That topnotcher is Kathryn Bernardo and the hibernating franchised show is Pilipinas Got Talent (PTG). Everyone who follows Pinoy showbiz knows that Bernardo and GMA 7’s Alden Richards are the stars of Hello Love Again, the country’s highest-grossing movie that earned a billion-plus pesos. That on-screen-only loveteam has to be rested for the meantime, and it’s not easy to come up with a film story to put Bernardo in and who to team her up with that can match, if not surpass, the revenue that Hello Love Again raked in.

So why not make Bernardo a mainstay in a talent-search show as a judge? The job gives her maximum exposure as a thinking, observing, reasoning drama actress while interacting with fellow judges Eugene Domingo, Donnie Pangilinan and former ABS-CBN president Freddie Garcia.

Reviving PGT in 2025 is not an overnight decision. Talks about it begin to float among ABS-CBN executives as early as January last year, along with the buzz that Luis Manzano, who has hosted several PGT editions, may have to slowdown his hosting career for some reasons. Eventually though those reasons began to include the possibility of his joining his mother (Vilma Santos) in the political arena. (By now, we know that both Manzano and half-brother Ryan Christian Recto, Santos’ youngest child, are running for posts in Batangas in the elections this May.)

Bernardo may have known about being drafted by ABS-CBN, her mother studio, as a PGT judge about middle of last year though she may have been encouraged not to reveal it yet to anyone.

The same may be true in the case of Pangilinan whose love team with Belle Mariano hardly sizzled no matter how it has been hyped, so Pangilinan is beginning to be cast in shows on his own. Pangilinan and Mariano seem to have never been close to each other in private for some reasons.

At the recent media launch for the reactivated PGT, Bernardo suddenly talked about “feeling lost at the moment.”

She confided, almost from out of the blue: “I’m turning 29 in a few days. I’m at the point in my life again wherein I feel so lost. I felt this, I remember, when I gave a message for the thanksgiving party of the ‘Hows of Us.’ This was the same feeling.”

She hastened to add: “To be honest, I’m so scared, I’m so lost, but I think it’s so brave na every day I show up just like what Donny [Pangilinan] said kanina. I show up and I choose to grow and accept all the uncertainties because I don’t know bigla ko lang siya na-feel.”

As if to assure Bernardo that she is on the right track, co-judge Domingo revealed at the media launch that it was Bernardo who suggested that she (Domingo) be cast also as a judge in PGT.

Revealed Domingo: “Gusto ko lang i-share sa inyo na I’m not here kung hindi sinuggest ni Kathryn na isama ako. I think that’s worth noting (I just want to share that Kathryin did not suggest that I be included in the show. I think that is worth noting).”

The comedian actress added she had been looking for a new show to join and when the opportunity to become a judge for PGT was handed to her, the star didn’t hesitate to say yes.

Bernardo, on the other hand, expressed how assuring it was to have Domingo judge beside her. It’s the first time for both to judge in the talent competition.

“Iba rin yung kampante ko pag nadiyan si Ms. Eugene kasi syempre first time ko dito. So everytime nandiyan siya, iba rin yung kaba. Doon ko rin na-realize na sobrang hirap mag judge (It is different when I am confident that Ms.Eugene is here. Because it is my first time here. Everytime she is aroundI get nervous. I have realized that it is hard to be a judge),” Bernardo admitted.

There’s another Domingo in PGT who’s not related by blood to Eugene: Robbie, who hosts it along with comic Melai Cantiveros.

Season 7 of PGT will air Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 8:30 p.m. on Kapamilya Channel, Kapamilya Online Live, A2Z and TV5.

Meanwhile, Bernardo was among the big stars who stunned the Mall of Asia Arena crowd at the Bench fashion show Friday night, 21 March. She and Alden book-ended the event: Alden opened. Bernardo closed it.

Bernardo’s feeling “lost” may just be part of her birthday blues. She turns 29 on 26 March. She has not revealed her birthday plans as of press time.

In 2024 April, she moved to her own mansion amid a spacious front and back yard with lush gardens. She is reportedly dating the young Lucena City mayor, Mark Alcala since December last year yet. The courtship was reportedly taking place even at the time Bernardo and Richards were promoting Hello, Love, Again and were believed by some fans that “something” was going on between them.

Both Bernardo and Alcala have not reacted on social media about their alleged romance.

Richards has turned advocate for running and helped organize a fun run for a cause for the organization Movieworkers Welfare Fund (Mowelfund) of which he is a board member

According to Aubrey Carampel’s report in “24 Oras” Monday, the Asia’s Multimedia Star helped organize a fun run for a cause event for the Mowelfund, of which he is a board member.

“We’re calling it ‘Lights, Camera, Run! Takbo para sa Pelikulang Pilipino.’ So all the proceeds of the fun run will go directly to Mowelfund,” Richard told the GMA7 news program “24 Oras” recently.

Veteran actress and Mowelfund board of trustees member, Boots Anson Rodrigo, shared they hope the fun run fosters camaraderie among the members and non-members of the film industry.

Richard turned up at the well-attended 51st Mowelfund anniversary on Saturday (22 March) at the University of the Philippines Bahay ng Alumni in Diliman, QC. The event was held from 1pm to 6pm. Among its well-patronized medical and dental mission rendered by Capitol Medical Center to its members — all for free, including blood analysis, ECG test, urine test and chest X-ray. A bag of groceries, some medicines and transportation allowance were given to each Mowelfund member.

The first edition of PGT was held in 2010, with the young Jovit Baldovino, a singer, emerging as champion. The show had contestants who danced solo or in group, performed magic tricks.

Baldovino eventually released four albums and even acted in a number of ABS-CBN shows, such as Growing Up and Juan dela Cruz. He has been a regular performer on ASAP, ABS-CBN’s weekly concert variety show.

Baldivino passed away at 29 in 2022 December in Batangas City due to stroke complications.

Season 6 of PGT was held in 2018 May, with spiral pole dancer

Kristel de Catalina, a single mother to a son, emerging as grand champion. Her performance included an aereal stunt that amazed the audience.

De Catalina made history as the first solo female act to win in PGT since it started six seasons ago.

During the PGT auditions, De Catalina impressed judge Vice Ganda who immediately sent her to the semis by choosing her as his Golden Buzzer act. The single mom then topped the public’s votes in her semi-finals round and earned her a slot in the PGT grand finals.

There are products of PGT who have become well-known entertainers. For instance, Markki Stroem, a grand finalist of Season found success as an actor and stage performer in the years following his PGT bid. He has starred in at least four major theater productions, and appeared in at least five films, and that’s excluding acting roles on television.

Marcelito Pomoy, Season 2 grand winner, best known for his “doble kara” performances, launched his music career, with two albums under his belt and a regular billing on “ASAP.” He joined the original America’s Got Talent in which Simon Cowell was the head judge.

Pomoy made it to the finals and enjoys a quiet but reliable international singing career.

Khalil Ramos was a runner-up on Season 3. The singer placed second to Season 3 champion Maasinhon Trio, and went on to release an album after PGT. However, he found bigger success as an actor, with several starring roles on TV and in films. Ramos has just won Best Actor in the recently concluded CinePanalo Second Edition. His breakhrough film years ago was 2 Cool 2 Be 4gotten and on TV in La Luna Sangre.

The shadow theater group El Gamma Penumbra was a grand finalist in Season 3.

This group had no shortage of guest appearances on TV and other major events following its grand-finalist finish in PGT. Four years later in 2015, El Gamma Penumbra made international waves when it brought to Asia’s Got Talent its timely societal messages, eventually winning the entire competition.