Cariza "Ice" Yamson Seguerra (born September 17, 1983), formerly and still known professionally as Aiza Seguerra, is a
Filipino actor, singer-songwriter, director and guitarist. Initially coming out as a
lesbian in 2007, Seguerra now identifies himself as a
transgender man.
On August 12, 2016, Seguerra was appointed by President
Rodrigo Duterte
Rodrigo Roa Duterte (, ; born March 28, 1945), also known as Digong, Rody, and by the initials DU30 and PRRD, is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 16th president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. He is the chairperson ...
as Chairperson of the
National Youth Commission.
Career
Seguerra first appeared as a three-year-old contestant of ''
Eat Bulaga!
''Eat Bulaga!'' (), formerly ''Eat... Bulaga!'', is a noontime Philippine television variety show broadcast by GMA Network. Produced by TAPE Inc., it is the longest running variety show in the Philippines with over 13,000 episodes. Origina ...
s "
Little Miss Philippines". He subsequently became part of the show from 1987 to 1997.
As a child star, Seguerra appeared in more than 30 movies and TV shows to date. He often portrayed the role of actor and fellow ''Eat Bulaga!'' host
Vic Sotto’s daughter in numerous films. He portrayed the role of Aiza Kabisote, daughter of Enteng Kabisote in ''
Okay Ka, Fairy Ko!'' from 1987 to 1997.
He only appeared in six films for
Regal Films. At age 14, he competed in
Bong Revilla's Invitational Shootfest '98, and has won several awards in the sport.
During his late teens, Seguerra began pursuing a career in music; singing and playing the guitar. His single "Pagdating ng Panahon" became a major hit in 2001 which enabled him to start a music career.
Seguerra won
''The Singing Bee'' on July 8, 2008 after
Rachel Alejandro gave up her throne as defending champion due to other engagements. He defeated his co-contestant singer
Bituin Escalante. Seguerra won ₱1,040,000 for a second time on July 10, raising his total winnings to ₱2,080,000.
Seguerra also performed in Singapore for the
Singapore Repertory Theatre
Singapore Repertory Theatre (SRT) is a non-profit professional theatre company founded in 1993. It is located at the KC Arts Centre – Home of SRT at 20 Merbau Road, Singapore. The current artistic director is Gaurav Kripalani while its managi ...
presentation of the
stage play ''Avenue Q''.
On January 7, 2013, Seguerra entered the
Himig Handog P-Pop Love Songs contest as the interpreter for the song entry called "Anong Nangyari Sa Ating Dalawa", written by Jovinor Tan. He performed the song in the grand finals on February 24 at the
SM Mall of Asia Arena. The song eventually finished in first place for Best P-pop Love Song thus rewarding the writer of the song with one million
pesos in cash.
In 2015, he returned to
GMA Network
GMA Network (Global Media Arts or simply GMA) is a Philippine free-to-air television and radio network. It is the flagship property of publicly traded GMA Network, Inc. Its first broadcast on television was on October 29, 1961. GMA Network ( ...
after three years to star in
Princess in the Palace, which became a hit.
Personal life
Seguerra is the only child of Decoroso "Dick" Seguerra (of Calauag, Quezon) and Caridad "Caring" Yamson-Seguerra (of Bicol Region).
He studied in Operation Brotherhood Montessori Center and later enrolled at the
College of Fine Arts and Design of the
University of Santo Tomas
The University of Santo Tomas (also known as UST and officially as the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, Manila) is a private, Catholic research university in Manila, Philippines. Founded on April 28, 1611, by Spanish friar Mig ...
and acquired a college degree.
On August 18, 2007, Seguerra
came out publicly as a lesbian. In August 2014, he came out as a transgender man.
In 2013, Seguerra, along with other local celebrities, came together to join the
PETA
Peta or PETA may refer to:
Acronym
* Pembela Tanah Air, a militia established by the occupying Japanese in Indonesia in 1943
* People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, an American animal rights organization
* People Eating Tasty Animals, ...
campaign 'Free Mali', a campaign aimed to release Mali, an
Asian elephant
The Asian elephant (''Elephas maximus''), also known as the Asiatic elephant, is the only living species of the genus '' Elephas'' and is distributed throughout the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, from India in the west, Nepal in ...
currently living at the
Manila Zoo and the only captive elephant in the Philippines, due to the poor facilities and keepers to care for him. Seguerra spoke up saying that "Mali has been sentenced to a life of loneliness, misery and neglect. When people all around the world are calling for Mali to be freed, in light of the suffering he has endured at the hands of the Manila Zoo, the proposal to bring in more elephants to the zoo is outrageous. They would have to endure the same cramped, concrete conditions, lack of exercise and improper veterinary care as Mali has for the past 36 years."
On December 8, 2014, Seguerra married model and actress
Liza Diño in California.
Filmography
Television
Other TV guestings
Film
Discography
Awards
Theater
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seguerra, Ice
1983 births
Living people
21st-century Filipino male actors
21st-century Filipino male singers
Duterte administration personnel
Filipino male child actors
Filipino male film actors
Filipino male pop singers
Filipino male television actors
LGBT people from the Philippines
LGBT singers from the Philippines
Male actors from Quezon
People from Manila
People from Quezon City
Singers from Quezon
Filipino television variety show hosts
ABS-CBN personalities
Star Music artists
GMA Network personalities
Tagalog people
Transgender male actors
Transgender male musicians
Transgender musicians
University of Santo Tomas alumni