Toni in defense of PBB winner Daniel

MANILA, Philippines - It no longer came as a surprise for Toni Gonzaga when various comments — most of them negative — started pouring in after the ABS-CBN reality show Pinoy Big Brother All In came to a close last Aug. 24 where Daniel Matsunaga was declared the grand winner.

“It’s always the same every season. In the nine years of (airing) PBB, every after season you would hear such words as cheating, unfair and scripted,” Toni said after the presscon for her launch as the brand ambassador of Acer smartphones. “And I’m already used to it because it was always like that.”

Daniel, Toni added, was truly fitting for the title. Based on her observation as one of the hosts of the just-concluded reality show, the Brazilian-Japanese model was the only one among the 19 housemates who displayed consistency in character from the time he entered the PBB house until the announcement of his inclusion in the Big Four. Daniel was declared grand winner after garnering the highest net vote of 11.69 percent, receiving 18.52 percent votes to save and -6.83 percent votes to evict. He walked away with P1M cash and other special prizes, including a house and lot.

“He was not playing just for the cameras. He was just really aggressive and competitive which every housemate should be. (Since) nasa kompetisyon kayo, you must show your ability,” said Toni who also revealed that she was among those who voted for the 25-year-old Daniel.

She, too, has nothing against Daniel who was being linked to her younger sister Alex. Toni affirmed that she would welcome any guy as long as his intentions for Alex are good and true. However, to set things straight, Toni confirmed that nothing romantic is going on between Daniel and  Alex. The Daniel-Alex issue cropped up when the two were still inside the PBB house. “Before kasi si Ate Kris (Aquino) inaasar sila na pwede daw sila kasi they share the same faith but of course, we do not want to jump to conclusion or get ahead of what’s going to happen because Daniel is not courting Alex. Nothing has materialized yet, lahat lang tuksuhan.”

Meanwhile, Toni expressed her delight at being chosen as the brand ambassador of Acer smartphones.

Acer Philippines exec Manuel Wong revealed during the presscon that several names were included in the shortlist of potential endorsers for the brand. “But Toni stood out from the rest because she represents what the brand is all about — excellence. She excels in what she does as an actress, host, singer and most of all she’s family-oriented.”

Toni, in turn, thanked Acer Philippines for giving their all-out support for her concert at the Mall of Asia on Oct. 3.