THEY may be representing the Philippines in the reality television show The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition and out to make the country proud, but Lara Pearl Alvarez and Louie Sangalang are strongly pushing for their respective causes to emerge as the winner.
The Filipino candidates are two of 16 handpicked individuals vying for the position of ONE apprentice in the show which will have its Asian premiere on Thursday, March 18.
In the show, which its makers said is the toughest iteration of the popular show, participants are asked to solve business problems in real time, but a twist — in the form of physical challenges with mixed martial arts stars — is also involved.
Ms. Alvarez, 24, who hails from Baguio, is relying on her go-getting mind-set and is inspired by her family, particularly her 10-month-old son.
“Filipinos are known to be courageous. That is what I will be for this show, I will be a fighter,” Ms. Alvarez shared in the lead-up to the premiere of the 13-episode show.
She went on to share the sacrifice she had to make just to be in the reality show.
“I left a 10-month-old boy who needed me the most at such a tender age. I spent what’s left from my savings for my preparations for the show. All of that is for the chance to change my life. I think I have a bigger reason for this competition and that is my edge,” Ms. Alvarez said.
Mr. Sangalang, 43, for his part, is banking on his resiliency honed by the twists and turns he has had in his life, including surviving appendiceal cancer at the age of 23 more than two decades ago.
“Personally, I want to prove that I am resilient and that I always do my best in every physical task and business challenge. I want to demonstrate my maturity, business acumen, and level-headedness in this competition,” he said.
Manila-based Sangalang has touted himself as doer, something he wants to highlight on the show.
“Don’t believe your own hype. Do the right things and do things well — and for me, this is a good starting point to finding your True North,” he said.
In store for the winner of The Apprentice is a $250,000 job offer to work as ONE Chairman and CEO Sityodtong’s protégé at the Asian sports media property’s global headquarters in Singapore for a year.
Apart from Ms. Alvarez and Mr. Sangalang, other candidates in show are Alvin Ang (Singapore), Irina Chadsey (Russia), Eugene Chung (United States), Teirra Kamolvattanavith (Thailand), Joy Koh (Singapore), Monica Millington (United States), Paulina Purnomowati (Indonesia), Jessica Ramella (Venezuela), Niraj Puran Rao (India), Nazee Sajedi (United States), Sho Takei (Japan), Clinton Tudor (New Zealand), Roman Wilson (United States), and Kexin Ye (Germany).
The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition will be broadcast on AXN, the show’s official Asian broadcast partner.
It will also be shown over TV5 on March 20 at 11 p.m. and every Monday starting March 22 at 9 p.m. on One Sports. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo
