Benigno Dungo Perez (born November 27, 1990), popularly known as Ion Perez (), is a Filipino actor, model, and television host. He is best known as the ''Kuya Escort'' in the ''Miss Q and A'' segment of '' It's Showtime''. He is a regular host on

ABS-CBN ABS-CBN is a leading Philippine media and content company. It serves as the flagship media brand of ABS-CBN Corporation, a subsidiary of Lopez Holdings Corporation. Once the country's largest free-to-air television network, ABS-CBN has since ...

's noontime variety show '' It's Showtime''.

Early life

Perez is the 11th youngest of 15 siblings with his father a jeepney driver and his mother a '' kakanin''

vendor In a supply chain, a vendor, supplier, provider or a seller, is an enterprise that contributes goods or services. Generally, a supply chain vendor manufactures inventory/stock items and sells them to the next link in the chain. Today, these term ...

. According to some of his interviews from the past, he was bullied when he was younger because of his lanky frame. As a response, he motivated himself to get fit and take care of himself. He used to help his parents run a poultry shop inside a wet market. After developing muscles, Perez often went shirtless as a marketing tactic to help draw in customers to his parents' stall.

Career

Perez works as a model having been featured in the bachelors list of Cosmopolitan Philippines fashion magazine. He also participated in pageants. Perez was among the winners of the 2017 Misters of Filipinas and was the winner of the 2018 Mister Universe Tourism. His victories in pageants led him to more opportunities in his modelling career. He was initially hesitant to join pageants. It took three years of convincing from his manager for him to enter pageants. The first-ever meeting of the comedian-host-turned-actor

Vice Ganda Jose Marie Borja Viceral (born March 31, 1976), known professionally as Vice Ganda (), is a Filipino comedian, actor, host, singer and television personality. He is considered one of the most successful entertainers in Philippine show business ...

with her now-husband lon Perez in 2017. That's all thanks to "Gigil Kid" Carlo, who was the one to pick lon from the live audiences and let them have little interactions. They even sang "Pusong Bato" together, which really got everyone entertained. It happened during his guesting in an episode of her defunct talk show Gandang Gabi Vice in October 2017, in which Ion was among the audience and Aga was the guest. Around a year later, Ion became part of It's Showtime without her remembering that they'd already met before again. Perez first joined

's '' It's Showtime'' in September 2018 to audition for the "Kuya Escort" role. He secured the role and eventually became a co-host in the show. Having been part of ''It's Showtime'' for over 5 years, he recently celebrated a milestone by achieving his first win during Magpasikat 2023. He teamed up with Jhong Hilario and Kim Chiu as part of the group called Team JKI. The prize, amounting to 300,000 pesos, was donated to their chosen charity. In October 2024, he filed his candidacy for councilor in

Concepcion, Tarlac Concepcion, officially the Municipality of Concepcion (; ), is a municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Province, province of Tarlac, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 169,953 people. H ...

under the

Nationalist People's Coalition The Nationalist People's Coalition (NPC) is a conservatism, conservative political party in the Philippines which was founded in 1992 by presidential candidate Danding Cojuangco. History Formation In 1990, amid political and economic unce ...

in the 2025 elections. A month later, he withdrew his candidacy.

Personal life

On October 19, 2021, Perez and

had a commitment ceremony at The Little Vegas Chapel in

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

USA. In 2018, he first appeared on ''It's Showtime,'' when it happened Vice Ganda and Ion revealed that they had gotten engaged in February 21, 2020 and had undergone a non-legal wedding commitment ceremony, its a Same sex-marriage by LGBTQ+ Community. but already previously worked with Vice on the latter’s talk show, '' Gandang Gabi Vice''.

Filmography

Television

Film

Awards and nominations

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Perez, Ion 1990 births Filipino beauty pageant winners Filipino gay actors Filipino LGBTQ comedians Filipino LGBTQ politicians Filipino male comedians Filipino male models Filipino television presenters Filipino television variety show hosts Gay comedians Living people Obscenity controversies in television Star Magic Television controversies in the Philippines