Being voted out of the first-ever “Survivor Philippines” this early has turned out to be a blessing in disguise for the 20-year-old Cebuana castaway, Jervy Daño—now popularly known as Patani—as she gets to jumpstart what looks like a promising showbiz career ahead of her.
Airing since September, the Philippine counterpart of the world-famous reality show “Survivor” has turned up the primetime ratings heat, not only for the fiery competition among castaways, but also for the comic relief courtesy of Patani—especially with her candid declarations that she joined the reality show for “exfosure.”
Thus, her stint, how brief it may have been, earned her the tag as the most popular castaway, as proven by the brewing “Patani Fever” on the Internet with the numerous blogs and online threads solely devoted to her.
The Cebu entertainment media got to interview Patani live on GMA 7’s morning show “Buena Mano” last Thursday during her one-day-only homecoming, the coverage of which will air on the magazine show “Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho” tonight.
After repeatedly joining and repeatedly failing to qualify in the GMA 7 artista search “StarStruck,” Patani believes that having qualified for “Survivor Philippines” could just be her last ticket to showbiz stardom. She added that she has no hard feelings towards fellow Jarakay Tribe castaways who voted her out as she already considers the “Survivor” stint as the biggest exposure of her life.
Born and raised in northern island of Camotes Island, Patani has always dreamt of becoming a star. In fact, during the interview, she showcased her acting talent (with special participation from host Algin Abaquita) and it was a unanimous observation among the people on the set of “Buena Mano” that Patani is a natural-born comedian. “Bata pa lang ko nangandoy nako nga mag-artista, bisan pa gani niadtong naa pako sa tiyan,” Patani told The FREEMAN.
While working as a baby-sitter in Talisay City, she strived to learn and master Tagalog by watching TV shows and speaking the language whenever she was engaged in conversation. Patani said she also likes to try hosting and modeling if given the chance.
Nevertheless, Patani believes that by being a castaway, she finally got one foot inside the door to the world of showbiz, so to speak.
Patani recalls that the most memorable “Survivor” challenge involved swimming .
“Paglangoy man gyud ang lisod, bisan ang amo (Camotes) gituyokan og dagat, pero wala man sad sa akong hunahuna sa una nga mag-practice ko og langoy,” said Patani with a laugh.
She revealed that despite the many difficult challenges thrown at them, she was not able to feel how hard they were as she was genuinely enjoying her stay in the Koh Tarutao Island in Thailand. She said that if she took everything seriously, she would have felt tired and drained from the experience.
“Kabalo mo, gi-enjoy ra gyud nako ang akong kaugalingon ang akong pag-istar sa isla, wala lang nako gi-seryoso og maayo ang mga lisod nga challenges, importante nga nagmalipayon ko sa akong gibuhat,kalouy sa Diyos, wala gyud ko kasugat og mga challenges nga dili makaya. Nag-enjoy ra ko og panguha og kasag sa baybayon,” Patani told The FREEMAN.
Now, Patani’s showbiz dream is unfolding as a slew of TV guestings and projects has already been lined up for her in GMA-7 and QTV. She will be seen on “Eat Bulaga,” “Star Talk,” “Showbiz Central,” “All Star K,” “One Proud Mama” together with her mom, and “Sweet Life” as co-host of Lucy Torres-Gomez.
Beginning this Monday, Patani will also be seen everyday on the morning show, “Unang Hirit.” She will be visiting different wet markets of Metro Manila to update viewers on the price changes of different basic commodities.
Patani stressed that she only finished high school, and that after graduation, she immediately worked as a “yaya” in Talisay. If she will be given the chance to continue with her college education, she would like to take up Mass Communication or study English.
And like many showbiz personalities, she was also asked about her love life. “Unsay pagtoo ninyo wala na lang gyud ko’y uyab?” she reacted with a laugh. “Bitaw, naa koy’ uyab ron, taga-Banawa siya. Nag-text-text man lang gihapon mi, dili call kay kalas og load.”
Patani also revealed that if she were to choose her leading man, she would request for JC de Vera, leading man of the upcoming primetime series “La Lola.”
There’s no denying that Patani is becoming a household name, but the Camotes island lass promised that nothing will change, from her attitude to her looks. “Gusto ko wala na’y usbon sa akoang itsura kay mao gud ni ang naw’ng ni Patani nga ilang na-ilhan,” Patani declared.
“Siguro daghan-daghan na ang magpa-picture nako ug magpa-autograph, apan magpabilin lang gihapon ko nga Patani nga inyong nailhan, wala gyu’y nausab sa akong kinaiya.”
“Survivor Philippines” is aired weeknights on GMA 7.