STARS came down at the ABS-CBN Ball, but among those who shone the brightest was “New Gen Phenomenal Loveteam” Donny Pangilinan and Belle Mariano.
The onscreen tandem, collectively known as DonBelle, was named People’s Choice: Stars of the Night and People’s Choice: Power Couple of the Ball during the star-studded event this year, held at the Makati Shangri-La Hotel on Saturday.
The titles were given by fans who voted via YouTube and KTX.
Mariano and Pangilinan emerged as winners of the Star of the Night category, with the actress garnering 28.79 percent of the votes and the actor with 15.63 percent.
Actress Francine Diaz got the second place in the list of People’s Choice: Female Star of The Night with 19.52 percent, followed by Andrea Brillantes with 12.65 percent, Janella Salvador with 0.88 percent, Jane de Leon with 0.84 percent, and Kathryn Bernardo with 0.32 percent.
Meanwhile, Kyle Echarri landed the second spot in the People’s Choice: Male Star of The Night list with 10.20 percent, followed by Seth Fedelin with 9.42 percent, Daniel Padilla with 0.44 percent, Elijah Canlas with 0.25 percent, and Carlo Aquino with 0.23 percent.
For the Power Couple of the Ball category, DonBelle received 67.46 percent of the votes, followed by tandems KD Estrada and Alexa Ilacad with 22.94 percent, and Fedelin and Diaz with 8.16 percent.
Pangilinan thanked those who voted for them through an Instagram story where he shared a black-and-white photo of him and Mariano while holding their awards.
“Thank [you] sa inyo ‘to,” he said.
Mariano also expressed her gratitude to their fans during the red carpet interview and said that they won’t be able to grace the ball without them.
“Even if we don’t see you talaga physically, we feel it naman, online man ‘yan, lahat ng pagmamahal at suporta niyo,” she said.
Other winners at the ABS-CBN Ball were Anji Salvacion and Eian Rances who took home the Star Magic Fan Favorite awards.
Amidst the glitz and glamour, the event was also “a night of gratitude and giving back.”
Part of the proceeds from the ball will be donated to the ABS-CBN Foundation, a non-profit organization which advocates for the welfare of Filipino people and the environment.
Can’t Buy Me Love premiere
DonBelle fans are only counting weeks before the premiere of Pangilinan and Mariano’s first primetime series Can’t Buy Me Love on October 13.
Excitement for the forthcoming show heightened after the Kapamilya network released its full trailer on September 25.
Can’t Buy Me Love centers on the love story of a hardworking and family-oriented man named Bingo and a wealthy Chinese woman named Caroline.
The two-minute trailer features more scenes between Bingo and Caroline, including the part where he saves her from drowning, as two unidentified men attempt to kidnap her.
Like their fans, the pair are also excited for their first primetime teleserye.
“This one’s very different from the previous projects we have filmed. Ang galing-galing [ng] lahat, everything. I just can’t wait for everyone to see it,” Mariano told ABS-CBN News at the ball.
