Bianca Gonzales: Proves first impressions wrong

I'm always honest and transparent so I would not deny that the first time I saw Bianca Gonzales inside the "Bahay ni Kuya" during the Pinoy Big Brother Celebrity Edition, I instantly disliked her. That was because I felt then that she was a threat to our very own Angela Calina. Bianca was being hyped up. Can you blame me at all?

Angela is a good friend of mine, aside from the fact that I'm all for promoting local talents. I believe that if only given the same breaks Manila artists are enjoying, we would come out the best in the country.

It was only when Angela made a voluntary exit for domestic reasons that my displeasure at Bianca mellowed. And then, she got entangled with Zanjoe Marudo. I asked myself, what kind of girl was Bianca? I thought she was wholesome, so why was she acting that way? We also knew that direk Lino Cayetano, her boyfriend for a year now, was waiting for her outside the house and must have been hurting because of her extra closeness to Zanjoe. So my antagonistic feelings toward her remained.

But after meeting her in person last week at Table7 resto bar, my first impressions quickly vanished. She was in town for the live broadcast of "Y Speak," the show on Studio 23 that made her a favorite among the youth because of her wit and charm. And so there I was observing her actions and listening to her answers, quickly weighing in whether I should believe her or not.

Bianca has a sunny disposition; she talks well and her smile is genuine. During the first 30 minutes of the presscon, I came to the realization that Bianca is real, unpretentious, honest and accommodating. What I admired about her so much was her being approachable. Not a single question was turned down or rejected, and I never heard a "no comment" even though I felt I was already being pushy with some of my questions. She was honest to admit that her extra closeness with Zanjoe then was, indeed, a mistake because it hurt the people close to her. But she said it proved something: she is just human capable of making mistakes.

So it's really true: first impressions don't last. That I like her sincerity and charm now is something I'm sure of. Truth is, I asked for a picture with her after the interview, something I had not done with Sam Milby, Jericho Rosales and Piolo Pascual. Well, I have always believed that celebrities are humans like me and that majority of them are just wearing masks, so why waste time asking for their autograph or pictures or going gaga over them? Forgive me, but I'm hard to please. I hate celebrities who are fond of saying "no comment" or playing safe with their answers.

No wonder the likes of Angelica Panganiban, Alessandra de Rossi, Cindy Kurleto and Sunshine Dizon never fail to impress me with their boldness and their fearless, no-nonsense answers. Maybe it's because of my orientation in hardcore journalism where the rule is always "call a spade a spade." I have no tolerance for pretentious celebrities and those who are followers of what I call "scriptwriting in showbiz."

Anyhow, let's see if you like Bianca's answers during my brief interview.

PenPoint: How are things between you and Zanjoe? Do you still communicate with him?

Bianca: We're okay. When we see each other we are very civil, we say hi to each other. There are times na like yung Big Night nagkita po kami, we are very civil pero I think for the both of us we both know na parang alam niya na he has to give me space because I'm fixing things with Lino at the same time I have to give him space kasi gusto din niyang gawin ang lahat na gusto niyang gawin whether career or lovelife, ganyan. So parang mutual respect in the sense na we have to give each other space.

PenPoint: What do you feel for Zanjoe now?

Bianca: Parang I keep on saying, never kang magde-deny what you feel for him inside the house. Now I know that we're just friends talaga, na parang we both have our own lives that we are trying to both fix right now.

PenPoint: After what happened inside the house, witnessed nationwide if not worldwide, how's your relationship with direk Lino now?

Bianca: It's serious because parang ito na siguro ang pinaka una at pinaka malaking trial na napagdaanan namin as a couple. We just turned one year together officially this month. And trivia, he officially asked me dito po sa Cebu in Plantation Bay. (Note: She later implied that her relationship has not been totally fixed and turns somewhat shaky-she rates things 6 in a scale of 10-especially if the incident would be remembered).

PenPoint: Marriage plans?

Bianca: Ay naku, mate-tense po ang nanay ko sa mga wedding-wedding. So yon po. I think na kung mayroong naturo yung house sa amin as a couple is that bata pa po kami. We should not rush things since there so many things to realize and we have to grow as individuals. And I think I'm too young. Lino is 28 and I'm 23.

PenPoint: What for you was the worst criticism said against you after coming out of PBB that really made you cry?

Bianca: Wow! I think lahat pantay. Ang pinaka iniyakan ko lang was parang hindi ko rin naintindihan why that happened to me, hindi ko rin naintindihan how it happened.

PenPoint: Bianca now, when you are alone or before you sleep at night, what do you tell yourself?

Bianca: Oh wow! Ay grabe only one thing- si Lord na ang bahala sa akin. We do things to plan our lives or to fix our lives pero in the end si Lord talaga ang bahala sa atin. And I just trust na lahat tayo, ako aalagaan tayo at hindi tayo ipapahamak.

PenPoint: I hope you don't mind but critics are saying you have an ugly face and that it's not fit for television and that you have no sense of fashion. How do you feel about these comments, which, for me, are already below the belt?

Bianca: I definitely take the criticisms into consideration. Kasi kung hindi ako nasa TV, honestly I am just a normal teenager na madaming linggo bago ako magpalaba ng jeans, hindi ako mahilig magplapantsa, [I don't care] whether yung suot kong t-shirt may mantsa. Pero I try to fix myself up, feeling ko nag-aayos ako pero feeling ng ibang tao hindi. So I'll just keep on trying to do better everytime. I take it naman as constructive criticism.

PenPoint: Bianca, my personal observation of you is that you're so mabait, humble and so candid. And I could sense that you are a positive thinker. What angers you, what makes you cry?

Bianca: I am. I'm such a positive person talaga kaya napaka ironic talaga na nangyari yon sa akin sa house. What makes me cry is kapag, more than pag-ma hurt ako but ma-hurt yong mga mahal ko sa buhay. What angers me? Hindi rin po for me but when people are mean to others. I don't know, parang when people are mean to my family or people I love yon po parang di ko maintindihan kung bakit. Kasi I think if it's sa'yo parang feeling ko dahil ako ang gumagawa nun, I deserve this. Pero when if it's other people iba na yun.

PenPoint: Lastly, what advice did Kuya Boy Abunda, your manager, give you?

Bianca: Medyo conflict of interest kasi in the first place siya yong nang-iintriga. Siya yong mang-iintriga but at the same time kailangan niya akong alagaan. His advice is just basically, answer the truth parang that's the best naman talaga you can give to people. Kasi if you tell the truth, it's up to them kung pakinggan nila or maiintindihan nila. And he always says na kung alam mo na hindi totoo you have nothing to be afraid of.

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Check out Kim Chiu and all the other Pinoy Big Brother Teen Housemates tomorrow at the Ayala Center Lagoon for the ASAP Homecoming of the latest Cebuana who made us proud in national entertainment scene once again.