Jolina: On to the next level

With GMA 7’s fourth edition of StarStruck going to The Next Level, so is Jolina Magdangal, the lone female host of the reality artista search.

From hairstyle to affairs of the heart, down to her future and outlook in life, the 28-year-old actress seems to be stepping up to life’s next level – becoming more mature and responsible in every thing she does.

As maturity beckons for Jolina, so does her new look set her apart from the rest.

Jolina has started to reinvent herself by sporting a rocker chic haircut. She kept the 10-inch long cut tresses not in memory of the long years she had worn them but with a charitable purpose in mind.

"I want to make wigs for cancer patients. That’s why I’m asking everybody to donate his/her cut hair (10 inches and above) for more wigs," she says.

As of now, many have already responded to Jolina’s call for the worthy project.

Aside from the worthy project, Jolina also has a worthy future husband in Bebong Muñoz, her boyfriend of six years. Settling down is already in the couple’s plans. But the wedding might happen after the elections in 2007 as Bebong is running for congressman in Caloocan City’s second district.

"Since we will be busy campaigning for the elections, our plan of getting married has to be set aside because it is difficult for both of us to prepare for the wedding and campaign at the same time. We have talked about some details but nothing is definite yet," she says.

Jolina recently displayed a sense of maturity as she recognized her failure to inform her network (GMA) about her and Bebong’s appearance on The Buzz for a post-birthday greeting to Boy Abunda.

"My attention was called by GMA when I guested on The Buzz. When I was still in Europe one of the staff of The Buzz called asking if I could greet Tito Boy via phone patch, but unfortunately it didn’t happen as we were really busy that time. So when we arrived in Manila, they asked me again if I could guest on the show with Bebong. Thinking it was okay, we agreed because we thought we would just greet Tito Boy. I never thought it would be a big deal. Tito Boy was the one who introduced us (Bebong and me) to each other," she says.

But everything is all right between her and GMA. Jolina apologized for her shortcoming.

Jolina says the latest edition of StarStruck is more challenging as this year’s hopefuls are determined to make it to the finals. This early, she has seen a lot of contestants with potentials to be the next stars to watch out for.

"Age limit has been changed from 16 to 19 to 16 to 21 years old. That’s why there are a lot of people who presented themselves well," she opines.

Contestants range from teeners to the sexy and hunky ones, aside from being good-looking and talented.

A P1-M cash and P2-M exclusive GMA management contract each, plus an attractive range of additional prizes await those who will be named as The Ultimate Hunk, Ultimate Sweetheart and Ultimate Loveteam.

Hosts Dingdong Dantes and Raymond Gutierrez will join Jolina in presenting the new batch of contestants when StarStruck airs weeknights starting tomorrow with a live airing of weekly eliminations every Sunday after Mahiwagang Baul.