The latest Kapamilya champion responded to Vice Ganda’s advice to the next winner of idol Philippines, who turned out to be him.
Khimo Gumatay, the winner of the recently-concluded second season of the reality-talent show, Idol Philippines, took to Facebook on September 25, to thank his well-wishers, fans, as well as ABS-CBN, for taking part in the realization of his dreams. In a lengthy post he called an ‘appreciation post’, Khimo detailed his appreciation for everybody who supported his ‘Idol’ journey.
“Mahigit isang linggo na rin po lumipas pero sobrang dami pong nangyari na biyaya at mga bagay na hindi ko akalain na hahantong ako dito. Noon, ‘di ko talaga pinlano na sumali ng Idol. Pero ngayon sobrang pasalamat ko sa mga taong pumilit at hindi sila tumigil hanggat ‘di ako umoo.
“(It’s been a week, and I have received a lot of blessings and good things I never thought I’d have. Then, I never planned to join Idol. But I am thankful to those who never stopped convincing me to join until I said ‘yes’),” he wrote.
Gumatay was notably not among the early fan favorites in the competition, albeit consistently being raved with great comments from the judges. His victory came as a surprise to many, but not to the judges and the loyal fans who relentlessly supported him via fan voting.
During the grand finals night, one of the statements that made rounds on the internet, is the one from the season 1 judge, Vice Ganda. It can be recalled the ‘Unkabogable Phenomenal Nox Office Superstar’ jokingly advised the then-unnamed grand winner not to leave ABS-CBN, too quickly. The advice was taken by many as a swipe at the competition’s previous winner Zephanie, who is now with GMA Network.
“Maipapangako ko na mag-stay ako dito sa ABS-CBN Entertainment and the network itself kasi ito ‘yung nagbigay sa akin ng blessing and at the same time the opportunity para maiharap yung sarili ko sa maraming tao and somehow makapag-inspire ng tao.
“(What I can promise is that I will stay here in ABS-CBN, because it gave me the blessing and at the same time, the opportunity to showcase myself in front of many people, and somehow, inspire them),” he added.
Khimo also promised to allot time to polish his craft, “Pagbubutihan ko po talaga.”
He, alongside other Idol hopefuls, is now part of the Sunday noontime musical variety show, ASAP Natin ‘To.
