Robi Domingo says Mitoy Yonting deserves 'The Voice of the Philippines' win

In order to quell the persistent grumbling over the supposed underserved win of Team Lea Salonga’s Mitoy Yonting against Team Sarah Geronimo’s Klarisse de Guzman as the first The Voice of the Philippines champion, host Robi Domingo asks the show’s followers to just “respect” the declared and popular decision.

On Sunday, September 29, Mitoy, 42, received 57.65% of the total number of votes against Klarisse during their final showdown which earned him the title of the first The Voice of The Philippines plus P2 million, a new car, an Asian tour package for two, and a four-year recording contract with MCA UniversalBut immediately after the competition, many viewers expressed dismay online over the contest’s result, even dubbing Mitoy as the “Noise of the Philippines.”

During an interview on October 3 after a shoot for his GAOC Dental endorsement, Robi underscored that Mitoy, just like the other contenders, deserve to win. “Everyone who joined that competition really deserves to win but for this case, if you’re asking me if he really deserved the title, for me, yeah. He does. Everyone else deserves the title but that guy stood out because of his Aerosmith type of voice,” the Pinoy Big Brother Teens alumnus said.

While he understands that some people consider the result as unacceptable, he said, “… You know ano lang naman ‘yan eh, kanya-kanyang opinion. I respect their opinions, but they have to respect the opinions of the ones who voted for him.”

As someone who had the opportunity of working with Mitoy firsthand, what does he think was the biggest edge of the Draybers vocalist? “Mitoy for me… even before sumalang siya sa blind auditions for me I’ve seen his growth. I have seen his passion. I have seen his desire to win but for me what sets Mitoy apart from other people, two things: heart and personality,” he shared. He said he believes this is what the audience also saw in Mitoy on top of his expert singing prowess.

Now that The Voice is over, Robi fondly looked back at the experience as something that is one for the books because it was through it that he was able to “mature” as a host. “For MYX, I just introduce videos. For PBB, I got to memorize spiels. For The Voice I got to empathize,” he related.

He continued, “I can’t sing, I can’t hit the high notes but I know what’s the feeling of standing there, showcasing your talent to everyone and hoping that you’ll be the first one to be the first The Voice of the Philippines winner.”

Overall, Robi dubbed the entire experience as wonderful. “Everything is so, so great. Voices were heard. I’m happy for all contestants who went it and I’m looking forward to Season 2,3,4,5,6,7…,” he concluded.