Overseas Pinoys shine in TFC talent tilt

MANILA, Philippines - TFC finally unveiled the global winners of its monumental talent competition, TFCkat at the Welcome Night, recently held at the ABS-CBN Restaurant 9501 in Quezon City. TFC, in partnership with Western Union, welcomed the winners from nine countries across the globe: Gail Belmonte from Singapore; Cris Bernardo, Dubai; Joy Carbonell, Hong Kong; Russel Figueroa, Canada; Maverick Silang Gomez, Spain; Sean Hutton, Australia; Remar Kenji Ippo, Japan; Pamela Morton, Guam; and Daryl Ogalino, US. 

After going through a volume of submissions online and months of arduous auditions in TFC events worldwide, TFCkat had finally set the stage for these performers to shine.

While these champions vary in demeanor, musicality and age, these winners’ world-class talents cut across. Joy Carbonell is a domestic helper from Hong Kong who is blessed to be employed by a Swiss national who encourages her love for music and even shares his talent with her at performances for free. Joy wants to extend the talent to her fellowmen as well.

Cris Bernardo used to join competitions in the Philippines but stopped when she joined her husband in Dubai. The couple lives with fellow Filipinos in a barracks type of unit and it was her housemates who encouraged her to pursue her dream via TFCkat. As fate would have it, Cris replaced the original winner in the Middle East finals who was not allowed to join the rest of the winners in the Philippines.

TFCkat winner for Australia Sean Hutton says that while TFCkat is an avenue for some of his fellow contestants to showcase their talents, it is not just a competition for him. “I want to be a musician throughout my life from now until I die. Hopefully with this life experience, coming to the Philippines and doing this whole TFCkat thing, I will learn more about myself and as a Filipino. What I want is to continue to be a musician later in life and do music as a professional here or in Australia.”

Russel Figueroa, a migrant based now in Canada, tried his luck with a local recording company. Life overseas came calling and Russel left his dreams for a while, that is until TFCkat came. He could not say no to the opportunity.

Gail Belmonte, the youngest contestant at 17 years old said that TFCkat is the first competition she joined after a long while.

Like Gail, Pam was born and raised outside the Philippines. Her sister Jamie Tam flew in from Guam through her own means to support her sister. Jamie specifically wanted to be with her sister since she is leaving Guam soon to migrate with her husband who works in the US.

Remar Kenji Ippo and Maverick Silang Gomez won the nod of the judges in their respective regional finals through dance. Kenji, Japan’s bet, heard of TFCkat at a Filipino get-together. Her mom Rizza Sakunaga who is a TFC subscriber, nudged him to join. He auditioned twice — one in Nagoya and the other in Gifu. Ippo won the unanimous vote of the TFC team in Japan.

At first glance, Maverick looks every inch a European. But once he tells his parents’ story and opens his heart, he appears to be very Pinoy, talking mildly and in a sing-song manner. He brings this type of rhythm in the way he moves and this definitely earned him a TFCkat slot. 

Daryl Ogalino has a different story. While he looks Filipino, he only speaks a few lines but could croon an entire OPM. He said it is an effort to learn Tagalog but he tries. Daryl said, “I love to sing Filipino music. I really can’t speak that well but it means a lot to me because I feel the emotion.”

Edson Aguiflor, ABS-CBN Global country manager, could not believe his eyes at the richness of Filipino talent across the world. “You cannot imagine how pleasantly surprised we are to discover that we seem to have a boundless stream of talent everywhere.”

As part of the prize, Jojo Ines, ABS-CBN Global chief marketing officer, presented the winners exclusive TFC jackets in symbolic ceremonies. Ines shared that TFCkat started as a regional program in Canada. When TFCkat rolled out across the world where there was TFC, he, too, was surprised at the large turnout of good performers. To the winners and their future endeavors, Ines has one piece of advice. “Find something unique in you whether from your heritage or yourself and seize the opportunity to live your dreams.”

For the TFCkat winners, the chance to have represented their region, aside from the chance to come home to their motherland with a family or friend (courtesy of TFC), is already a huge reward in itself. But to inspire these outstanding talents further, Western Union threw in an additional P20,000 to arm each contestant as they pursue another journey into Philippine show business.