DURING one Pinoy Big Brother Celebrity Edition 2 eviction night, Riza Santos surprised everyone when she garnered more than 60 percent of the votes to survive and prolong her stay in the Big Brother house.

At first, no one was sure where Riza Santos votes were coming from. She was relatively new in showbiz compared to the other housemates, and had no time to build up a following, or so people thought.

But her critics may have underestimated the capacity of the Filipino-Canadian beauty queen to draw votes. Although she is a newcomer in showbiz, Riza Santos is the perfect role model. Girls want to be her, boys want to date her and parents either want to adopt her or mold their children—yes, even the male ones, because Riza Santos has many traits that they want in a child, female or male—into someone like her. The jury’s still out on that last one, though.

Riza Santos is beautiful and talented—she can host, sing, dance and act. Her entry into Pinoy Big Brother Celebrity Edition 2 was not marred by any controversy, save for gossip linking her to singer Mark Bautista with whom she shares the same manager, both of them being talents of the Viva Artists Agency under Veronique del Rosario.

Those who’ve been following Pinoy Big Brother Celebrity Edition 2 every night have seen that Riza is the epitome of grace under pressure. She can keep her wits about her—and perform all her tasks well—even when her fellow housemates are losing theirs.

Riza Santos is also careful about following the house rules. The one time Big Brother scolded her for breaking one—when she told fellow housemate Gaby dela Merced that it was she who nominated Gaby for eviction by exercising her power as the Head of Household for that week—she burst into tears and said, “I’m sorry, I didn’t know I wasn’t allowed to tell her. I always follow the rules. I don’t even jaywalk!” Such an outburst may have annoyed some viewers, but it only served to endear Riza to many more.

At present, she is considered by many to be a strong contender for the Celebrity Edition Big 4 and is also seen as a potential Big Winner by many showbiz-watchers.

Whether or not she makes it, her post - Pinoy Big Brother Celebrity Edition 2 career is sure to take off, because there’s just something about Riza Santos that Filipino people can’t help but fall in love with.

There’s something about Riza Santos
As posted in http://www.journal.com.ph/index.php?issue=2007-12-17&sec=3&aid=42672
Dated December 17, 2007 03:36 PM Monday