Survival of the fittest

MANILA, Philippines - The names of GMA 7’s Survivor Philippines Celebrity Showdown castaways were revealed. Their Day One in the Asian island will soon begin. The castaways will take a four-hour flight from Manila and a five-hour long drive. They will be one saying that the endurance challenge kicks off on their way to still undisclosed Muslim community.

Unlike the title of the cable reality TV series, these celebrity-castaways will never say, “I’m a celebrity. Get me out of here!” That’s true because their eyes are set on the P3-M cash prize at stake.

Joining them in this exile is Richard Gutierrez as host of the Kapuso adventure show which sees celebrities outclash and outwit one another and build alliances to become the Ultimate Celebrity Survivor.

So, let the game begin!

“I am going to be true to myself,” offers Pretty Trizia of his strategy. “I will enjoy and do my best. Actually I have no strategy. There’s a phrase that goes, ‘Survival of the Fittest.’ But in the island, it will be the survival of the wisest.”

“Strategy? I have been thinking about it,” adds Jon Hall. “We really don’t know what’s going on out there. Nobody is safe at this point.”

What are their expectations about playing the Survivor game?

“My expectation is somebody will fall in love with me and that’s for sure,” jokes Pretty Trizia. “When the tension strikes in, I am going to be the mediator and the comic relief.”

“They told us the competition is tough,” says Jon. “That includes the challenges. The place is more dangerous and very wild. We have to be careful. I am looking forward to it and I am excited.”

That’s why Akihiro Sato prepared mentally and physically. He had to learn survival skills. “We will be fishing for food without any equipment,” he says. “(I think) I have to be friendly and positive. I’ll just enjoy the experience and not to be strategic.”

“I think I’ll have difficulty because they say the challenges are tougher this time around,” Ahron Villena accepts the reality of a Survivor life. “I’ll just do my best.”

Going to an uncharted territory and living in there for 36 days will test the Castaways’ soon-to-be dampened spirits. But what perhaps scares many of them is to be eliminated first from the competition.

“I don’t want to go home at all. To be eliminated first is not only embarrassing but it shows lack of experience,” shares Jon.

“One thing I am afraid of is that if I didn’t do my best at all,” says Pretty Trizia. “And I did not try to do an effort of doing it. It doesn’t really matter to me whether I am returning to the Philippines first or last. What’s important is I had fun.”

Among the castaways who have a high chance of surviving the island life including its unpredictable weather is Doc Ferds Recio, known for his environmental advocacies. The public will put their bets on him.

“It is a pressure to me knowing that they expect from me,” discloses the Born to be Wild host. “We want to know the terrain and the environment first before we can actually plan.”

Comedian Myka Flores agrees with Doc Ferds by saying, “Now, I can’t figure out what I plan to do or how I will play the game. I will find out once I get to the island. What I am thinking now is how the place looks like.”

Like the other castaways, Doc Ferds shares he psyched himself up for the competition.

“I am very anxious,” admits the veterinarian. “I had difficulties sleeping for days thinking about situations and how I will cope with or adjust to my fellow castaways. I hope no one gets sick or hurt. If someone gets eliminated, it’s because it’s part of the game — walang personalan. ”

“Here we have to make sacrifices,” says Myka. “We will find our own food and have to be smart about things to live.”

That’s the right attitude to begin their Survivor journey. The show’s think-tanks say that the major concern for choosing this season’s island paradise is isolation. It means the castaways go back to basics and are kept from enjoying the amenities of modern life. The place’s vast space is the celebrities’ playground in mounting tasks which determine their fate in the island. They commune with nature — seeing waters, rocks, mountains and endemic animals like snakes and wild buffalos. These elements will provide not only the home alone atmosphere but away-from-home feel. That challenges every castaway all the more.

Aside from the instant fortune and fame that come with winning the Survivor Celebrity edition, castaways have personal reasons for joining the reality TV show.

“I’ve been wanting change in my life,” shares Karen de los Reyes. “That’s why God put me here. This is the way for it. I am also looking forward to discover something about myself. Why should I join this if nothing comes out good or positive? Actually I prayed for this. I’ll just have fun and go with the flow wherever the current takes me.”

“I want to show everyone that I wasn’t (the pasaway) person they saw during StarStruck V,” says Princess Snell. “I want to win because I’m the bread winner. I want also to prove to myself that I’m not just a pretty, sexy girl. I can compete into something which requires strength. I’m just a kid enjoying and that I’m a very transparent person.”

Rounding up the Survivor castaways are Aubrey Miles, Michelle Madrigal, Elma Muros, student leader-teen idol Mico Aytona, StarStruck avenger Ian Batherson, rocker dad Buhawi Meneses, Solenn Heusaff, Sexbomb Aira Bermudez, Mr. Sensitive Ervic Vijandre and Moi Marcampo.

With that new set of castaways, one can’t help but say that the third season remains a survival of the fittest — and wisest.