While destiny may have played in his sensational Pinoy Big Brother win, there is no denying that perseverance, skill, and passion have brought the Zamboanga-native, Liofer Pinatacan, to the Big Night as the Big Winner. To date, he is the 16th Big Winner of the longest-running reality TV show.
Few weeks before the Big Night, there was arguably so much doubt about Liofer’s shot at winning this season, not having nominated, at least once, for eviction. It made gauging the public support for him; easy, like those he was with inside the house, have mostly gone through the grueling test, and came out victorious, later on. The challenges trimmed down the housemates into only four. However, it shed light upon his inevitable emergence, as he showed his true identity and aspirations to the viewing public, who would later push him into winning this historic PBB season.
As Laurenti Dyogi, head of Star Magic, revealed, Liofer was just a back-up housemate in case some selected housemates backed down or did not qualify after some tests—which is what happened. Originally the plan was not for him to appear this season. Some stroke of luck–he eventually got in as they say: the rest is history.
Dubbed as the Dong Diskarte ng Zamboanag, Pinatacan did not enter the house on day one (with the first 12 housemates introduced during the season’s debut) on December 6, last year. He was, instead, sneaked into the house, secretly, on the fifth day, alongside fellow housemate–Alyssa Exala (who later on got evicted), by housemates Crismar Menchavez and Andrea Abaya, through a secret task.
During his first few days inside the house, Liofer was arguably one of the quieter tenants who rarely interacted with his fellow housemates. House tasks and challenges, however, came, and he was instantly thrust, not into his fellow housemates’ attention, but to viewers, as well. And just like a butterfly coming out of his pupa, Liofer emerged in the purest sense of the word. His brotherly instincts and deeds have inspired his housemates, as he practically made navigating their lives inside the house easier.
With his physical strength, he was among those who took the responsibility of the physically-exhausting tasks, while his Dong Diskarte persona drove him to do his best to prove his worth as Kuya’s housemate.
Perhaps, what caught the audience’s attention, is that, like many of Kuya’s Big Winners, Liofer is among those few people, who truly showed their true selves, inside the house. Liofer’s moving story also made his mesmerizing ascent to the Big Brother throne, highly sensational, and ultimately became his crowning glory.
Among his most memorable moments in the house was when he shared with his housemates one of his wishes—to give his mother a denture. His heart-melting reaction when he finally saw his mother smile again is something one can’t help but shed a tear for. Similarly, the moment he secured his slot at the Big Four–is one proud moment that moved many viewers.
On his way to claiming his ‘destiny’ as PBB’s 16th Big Winner, Liofer went neck-and-neck and head-to-head with Andrea Abaya, who was his nearest rival, in the poll.
Jie-Ann Romero was the fourth big placer, Kobie Brown, third big placer, and Andrea Abaya closely followed him as his runner-up.
Now facing beautiful promises for a showbiz career that is about to be his, Pinatacan takes his battle to the outside world, a place where much harder challenges await. He would have to deal with louder doubters, who will continue to undermine what he has accomplished.
The promises are bright for this yet another ‘provincial boy’ to win the biggest reality search in Philippine television, and while his journey in the local entertainment scene remains unsecured, the success he has–is enough indication of his skill and passion, which may be the very same things he would need, in order to survive the new world he is about to explore.
