Ready for the final judgment

MANILA, Philippines - Steven Silva couldn’t contain his happiness when he made it to the Final 5 of GMA 7’s StarStruck V. The winners (one Ultimate Male Survivor and one Ultimate Female Survivor) will be revealed on Sunday night at the Araneta Coliseum.

“My focus is on the finals come Sunday,” shares the pride of Davao. “Since the finals is near and there’s no StarStruck next week, I just want to enjoy because it’s the only time we might be together. My focus is to enjoy and do my best.”

Although he dreams to be “it,” Steven is still surprised at his inclusion in the judgment night of the reality artista search.

“There are many surprises in StarStruck,” says Steven. “You never know what’s going to happen next. And I’m happy that I’m still here.”

When his name was called last week, Steven had flashbacks of the first time he auditioned in Davao and his aunt who encouraged him to join StarStruck. He is simply thankful for those who have helped him with his showbiz journey.

What amazed Steven was the more than 500,000 text votes he received which put him on the top spot edging out Enzo Pineda and Rocco Nacino. Sarah Lahbati and Diva Montelaba are the contenders in the female category.

Steven feels blessed that he has supporters who are with him in this fight. Even if his Tagalog is no good and his looks is foreign, the results only confirm that televiewers like him and Steven has a following.

“I’m happy that I have supporters. But I don’t like (the idea that) text votes will save me. I don’t want that. I want to save myself.

”I didn’t know where the text votes came from because my focus was on the challenges. Whatever happens to text votes is out of my control. I know my family and friends vote for me. (Other than that) I don’t know.”

In the final judgment night, fans of Enzo, Rocco and Steven will wear blue, violet and green, respectively. Diva and Sarah request their supporters to come in orange and yellow. Tickets will be distributed today, 5 p.m. at the New Ali Mall in Cubao, Quezon City. The voting closes on Feb. 21, 12 noon.

What he will do with the P1-M cash prize? Steven replies, “I want to help my family in Davao. My mom was the only one who was able to move from the Philippines to the States. When I compare my family in the States to my family in Davao, it seems the latter doesn’t have the chance to go to school and they don’t have enough money. It seems life is hard. I just want to help them if I could do that. Because during the many times I went to the Philippines, they would always help me and show me love. I also want to do the same.”

Win or lose, Steven is bent on a career in entertainment. He plans to attend workshops for acting and to improve his Tagalog.

“I feel the wall. There’s still this language barrier,” concludes Steven. “If there’s no language barrier, my true self will come out. After StarStruck, I want to remove that, and to really try my very best and let everything out.”