Celebrity News:

MANILA, Philippines -- Tessa Prieto-Valdes, Inquirer columnist, still thought of herself last night as the underdog, even after winning "Celebrity Duets," a reality singing contest among celebrity non-singers on GMA 7.

"I never claimed to be a good singer," she said.

So, why did Valdes top the competition, besting finalists Dr. Hayden Kho Jr. and Jessica Rodriguez-Bunevacz?

Host Regine Velasquez said it was probably because "Tessa was just having fun. She knows her strengths and weaknesses as a performer."

Judge Mitch Valdes agreed: "She was very wise in her song selections. She picked those songs that took into consideration her limitations. Even when she took risks, it was still within the bounds of her personality."

The contestants performed weekly with professional singers. The program is a concept of Fremantle Media, "Idol" franchise holder. This is the first round of "Duets" in the Philippines.

Wilma Galvante, GMA 7 senior vice president for Entertainment, dubbed Valdes as the "popular" choice. "Viewers (who voted via SMS) loved her," Galvante said. "They could see she exerted effort in rehearsing and preparing her costumes."

Host Ogie Alcasid pointed out, "This is a show for the audience. The viewers chose the winner."

Fellow finalist Bunevacz revealed that she herself had been rooting for Valdes. "She is donating all her cash prize to charity. I admire her for that," Bunevacz said.

Valdes is distributing her P1 million prize to 10 charity institutions, including Street Pals, Sisters of Mary, the PGH Pediatric Ward, White Cross, Assumption Batch ’81 Foundation, Gifts and Graces and Assumption Mission Schools.

Kho also insisted that he was happy about the results. "Had I or Jessica won, there might be intrigues," he said.

Valdes reiterated that her secret was not to have high expectations.

"My only goal was not to be the first to be eliminated," Valdes quipped. "I was always in the bottom two throughout this 13-week competition."

Her husband Dennis Valdes; her parents, Inquirer chair Marixi Prieto and husband Alex; and sister, Inquirer president Sandy Prieto-Romualdez were all present at the finals last night.