Ruben Gonzaga

Wedding songs started playing as soon as the housemates were up the day of Ruben's wedding. "This is the day," Ruben kept on saying. Soon, he was called into the secret room to dress up. The other housemates meanwhile were called into the confession room and were also told to get ready to leave for the wedding. Kuya informed Will that he was to serve as Ruben's best man while Ethel will be Jeselle's maid of honor.

Ruben was already teary eyed upon seeing Jeselle walking down the aisle in the arms of her parents. He was happily surprised too when he saw his fellow housemates joining his entourage. With the blessing of the Church finally bestowed on their union, Ruben, his bride and their families proceeded to the big yellow house for the reception. The housemates cheerily welcomed everyone and soon they were all sharing in a sumptuous feast.

Ruben and Jeselle's family gave messages of encouragement and were followed by the housemates' congratulatory remarks. Ethel had something special in her tube though for the newly weds. Before everyone left for the wedding, the comedienne asked Big Brother if she could give Ruben a wedding gift of two honeymoon tickets to Hong Kong. Of course, Kuya gave Ethel the permission and as she presented her gift, Ruben was utterly taken aback by her kind gesture. Again, Ruben was in tears while thanking Ethel for giving him the support he needed inside the house. The serious moment was interrupted though when his son suddenly asked for his attention. "Nagmomoment ako anak..." Ruben quipped, causing everyone to laugh.

The time for the guests to leave arrived and the housemates had to face another live event, totally not expecting Kuya's first barage of challenges. The five HMs remained stubborn and refused to give in to the first test of naming the person who doesn't deserve to be part of the Big Four. They remained hard headed to the point of scattering the medallions on the floor and pretending to stomp on them. Will even joked and said 'Kuya you wear this!'. The housemates were rash in their actions and the consequence of this greeted them early this morning. The video of the incident played on the plasma screen which bothered everyone greatly. And what's worse, Kuya's not speaking to them at all.

We've seen Kuya go silent on his HMs in the previous editions. Is this another one of Kuya's tests? Or is the owner of the house simply mad at his boarders? Could a Big Five be possible?

Fresh from Ruben’s wedding this afternoon, the five remaining official celebrity housemates must take on Kuya’s new and difficult challenges, without the ‘help’ of Ethel and Mariel. Yes, Gaby, Ruben, Will, Riza and Jon will be celebrating New Year’s Day without the celebrity house guests. The two ladies thanked everyone for being such good people and wished them all the best of luck. Once on stage with Toni and Bianca, the three kids from Payatas Ethel and Mariel sponsored were awarded food carts which their families can use to earn a living. The two were also surprised when they themselves received food carts. But Ethel received a bigger surprise when her ex-boyfriend Alex Crisano appeared on stage to welcome her back to the outside world.

While Ethel was basking over Alex’s attention, Big Brother was getting down to business with the housemates and told them his first challenge. The housemate were instructed to give an X medallion to the person who doesn’t deserve to belong to the Big Four. Everyone was horrified and Riza, who was first called to do the deed, did not budge from the sofa.

” I think we are all deserving … we should be the Big Five,” Riza explained tearfully to Big Brother. Kuya then called on the others but like Riza, they all declined to name someone ‘undeserving.’ Ruben even mentioned that all of them even talked abou sharing their prizes to the 5th placer just like what they did with Yayo.

Big Brother then proceeded to the second task which was naming the Big Winner. Every one placed their star medallions on Ruben’s neck for they all felt he’s this edition’s Big Winner. For Gaby, Will, Riza and Jon, Ruben embodies what the first placer should be — he was dilligent with all of the tasks, he was a humble guy and most of all he was such a loving person, who cared not only for his family but also his friends. Ruben got teary eyed with all his fellow housemates’s testimonies. The funny man from Davao chose Gaby though as his Big Winner for he felt that the racer proved she can do anything, even tough jobs that are considered for men only.He also stated that he liked Gaby’s firm conviction on her beliefs, giving her move to save the pigs as an example.

This afternoon in Uber, Big Brother spoke to the Komedyanteng Promdi in the confession room about his feelings about his upcoming wedding. Although he is still unsure of when the big day will be, Ruben confessed that he is excited to finally profess his undying love to the mother of his two children in front of God and the public. According to Ruben, the wedding day will serve as the culmination of the years he and Jeselle fought for their love. However, a part of Ruben could still not describe the way he feels about the wedding. Ruben then told Kuya that he looks forward to seeing his whole family and the other relatives of his girlfriend, and most especially, their two lovely children.

But like how all the housemates stood together in every task, Ruben will not be alone in this event. After his live conversation with Ruben, Big Brother called on Jon and Will to discuss what their plans are for Ruben's bachelor party. The Fil-British hunk decided to have fun games and reggae music instead of the usual alcohol drinking. Jon added that he wants to bring the Davao atmosphere inside the famous yellow house to pay homage to Ruben's roots. On the other hand, Will was still unsure on what to give his bestfriend for a gift on his bachelor party. But since Fil-German hottie observed that his best pal comedian is fond of electronic gadgets, specifically digital cameras, Will figured that Ruben might appreciate a camera of his own which he can use to take pictures of his family and friends during special occassion. However, Kuya started asking Will on his 'future' plans and he asked him of who between Ethel and Riza would he rather marry. Without a second thought, Will chose Riza whom he feels more close and comfortable to. But he got concerned, however, of how Ethel will react once the sexy-comedienne finds out his choice as he doesn't want anyone to get hurt.

The girls, on the other hand, spent the whole afternoon learning how to make a special carrot walnut cake for Ruben. Expert cake maker Penk Ching showed Ethel, Riza, Mariel, and Gaby all the basics of baking as tomorrow, all our housemates will have to work on Ruben's wedding cake on their own. Will our celebrity housemates get it right?

Ruben, on the other hand, is finally ready to make his proposal to partner Jeselle. Big Brother let Ruben make a phone call to Jeselle so he could say his piece. But instead of joyfully answering Ruben's proposal of marriage, Jeselle felt that he's just being pressured inside the house, with Angel Locsin's task and everything about their relationship being televised and all. The Komedyanteng Promdi explained that he has thought it over and believes this is the right time for them to do it. Still, Jeselle told him to think it over. Kuya then told Ruben that maybe Jeselle will see his sincerity if he does the proposal again once he's outside the house.

Big Brother decided to connive with Mariel, Donni, Ruben, Riza and Will. Whether they were asked to make a sacrifice or a pleasant surprise for the Racing Godess remains to be seen. But for now, what's made privy to all of us is the special task which they started to accomplish right after they played tug-o-war.

With a touch of irony, they were told to take a bath first before proceeding to the storage room where their costumes lay in waiting for them. There the five selected celebrities covered their bodies with paint, following a unified checkered flag design, which we mostly see in circuits. To complete their outfit, they wore a strapped-tire on their waists. Then they came out of hiding by skating around the house with their brand new roller blades!

Naturally, Gab immediately realized that the task is related to her. She asked if it was a punishment but Mariel said no. Other than that, the five of them were tight-lipped regarding their "secret mission" which is extended till later. In fact, they were instructed to sleep on the living room for tonight with their costumes on!

This morning, Big Brother ordered another task that tested our housemates' patience, teamwork, and strategy. In the activity area, Baron, Donnie, Will, and Ruben must work together in building a pyramid using crystal water goblets. But the twist in this task was that they must the pyramid on an unstable beam and the pyramid must stand for at least 10 minutes.

Ruben and Baron took charge of building the pyramid, but the difficult part was that they have inflatable buoys on their body which kept them from moving freely. Meanwhile, Donnie and Will stood on the each sides of the wooden beam placed on top of a tin drum. Donnie and Will must work with one another in keeping the beam as steady as they can while Ruben and Baron placed the goblet pyramid. During the task, the pyramid fell down several times, and this almost pushed Baron off the edge of his patience. Good thing Ruben always reminded his mates that they can do the task for as long as they stick together. On the other hand, Donnie and Will felt the strain on their legs as they tried to keep their feet on the unstable beam. But after several minutes of painstakingly trying to build the balanced goblet pyramid, Kuya called off the task, and the four guys left the activity area in disappointment. Nevertheless, they assured each other that they all gave their best shot to make the pyramid work.

Personal Data

• Real Name: Ruben Gonzaga
• Nickname: Ruben
• Origin: Las Piñas City
• Age: 25
• Birthdate: March 16
• Place of Birth:Davao City
• Nationality: Filipino
• Occupation: Comedian
• Sport: Basketball, billiards and boxing
• Hidden Ambition: To be a famous actor
• Claim to Fame: The "Budots" dance of Davao
• Charity: Cosugian Home for The Aged, DavaoCity
  

• Elementary: na
• High School: na
• College: na
  

Trivia

• Ruben Gonzaga is a popular comedian in Davao. He is most noted there for his "Budotz Dance." He is not related to Toni Gonzaga due obviously to their home bases.
• Although relatively unknown in Manila, Ruben is quite a celebrity in Davao. Working for ABS-CBN Davao, Ruben is popularly known as a member of the channel Joke Squad. He is also a stand-up comic in various bars with his trademark screaming faggot act. He's become so good at it that everyone who sees him perform assumes he is gay. But this comedian is actually a ladies man and is already married with 2 kids.
• Ruben is most famous in the South for Budots, naming his crazy dance steps after the slang term for bum in Davao. But despite the fame, Ruben is struggling to keep his head above the water. Right now, he is earning enough to get by and doesn't want his family to experience the impoverished life he had before. Ruben is working hard to help his parents and finally buy his dream house.