Aga wins the heart of Filipinos

He did not land a congressional seat at the House of Representatives, but Aga Muhlach definitely landed big in the hearts of the Filipino masses who have started calling him “Senador.” The multi-awarded actor recently had his first solo press conference after the last national elections where he ran for congressman in the province of Camarines Sur in Bicol, and it was in this intimate lunch with the entertainment press that Aga philosophically looked back on those exciting yet stressful days when he was exposed to the real drama and grime of Philippine politics.

“I was never disappointed. I told my team to do our best regardless of the outcome,” Aga shared. People forewarned him that he would be cheated come election day because he is naïve in the world of politics. And he lost. But Aga took his loss in stride and though his lawyers have filed a case to contest the results, he is leaving everything to the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal and says he has moved on. He wasn’t sore about losing. In fact, he took all this as a sign and a blessing.

Indeed it is, because starting today, Aga will be hosting a game show for the first time via TV5’s Let’s Ask Pilipinas (LAP). â€œWhen the idea (to host) was presented to me by Ms. Wilma Galvante, TV5 chief entertainment content officer, I was not sure if I wanted to accept it because that would mean I will be going out of my comfort zone,” said Aga, who revealed that he is a shy person in real life. But not one to buckle away from a challenge, he decided to make a go of it and flew to the US to watch how the show is being done there. LAP is a franchise of Let’s Ask America, an interactive game show where the home viewer can be a contestant from the comfort of his/her home. The game is actually very simple as Let’s Ask Pilipinas polls the Philippines about fun and irreverent topics and challenges contestants to predict what a majority of respondents are thinking. Four contestants have to correctly predict the answer and the prize money increases with each question.

There are three rounds and the end of each round, the contestant with the lowest cash total is eliminated from the game. In the final round, the last remaining contestant can wager all or part of their winnings on the final question of the day. A player who chooses to wager all of their money can win up to P500,000.

If LAP is making Aga feel jittery, his other TV5 show, Pinoy Explorer, on the other hand, makes him feel proud about the Philippines. “I’ve never been so excited to visit these places in our country where I really feel one with our people,” he explains. “I have the coolest job in the world… I get to go to different places, get to have fun doing it and get paid for it!”

Aga, who admits to being an introvert, now looks forward to going around the Philippines and making sure that he goes where the people are. In the past, he reveals, he would just go out of his house whenever he had a show and would rather just stay in the set and keep to himself or be with his co-workers. But thanks to his campaign sorties, it has honed his people skills and now enjoys going around and being with different people. “I guess it’s my way of giving back to them who have supported my career all these years,” Aga says. What makes Pinoy Explorer special for him is he gets to be his real self. “I am not an actor here on the show. I am myself who enjoys the simple things in life like eating, adventures and sports.”

When asked if his going around the Philippines is a preparation for his plans to run for a national position, Aga answers in the negative. But given a choice, and if offered a government position that has to do with the tourism industry, he is pretty receptive. “I would love to do it for our country because I believe we have so much to offer not just as a destination but as a people.” In the meantime, “Senador” must take a backseat as he enjoys being in the front seat going around the Philippines.