Do you remember former Pinoy Big Brother 737 Teen Edition housemate Franco Rodriguez? He now goes by the name Tomas of P-pop idol group Alamat.

In an exclusive interview with PUSH after the in-person press conference for PPOPCON 2022, Tomas shared that he continued his studies after joining the ABS-CBN reality show Pinoy Big Brother 737 in 2015. He emerged as the teen edition’s third big placer.

“After po kasi ng PBB, nag-aral ulit ako. Tapos feeling ko ‘yung PBB, isa siya sa stepping stone or baka talagang pina-experience sa’kin ni tadhana kung paano sa group makisama, paano solusyunan ‘yung mga problema, challenges. Ayun. Kasi baka hinanda niya ako para dito sa boyband, which is kami lang ‘yung magkakasama. Kami lang ‘yung magsosolusyon sa mga sarili naming problema, challenges. Wala kaming ibang kasama kundi kami-kami kasi malayo ‘yung family namin, eh. Kasi lahat sila, galing sila sa ibang [provinces]. Kami lahat. Kaya ‘dun talaga kami lumaki. Kaya ayun, wala kaming ibang makukuhanan ng suporta kundi kami-kami lang din,” he began.

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A post shared by Tomás (@alamat.tomas)

Tomas revealed how he became a part of Alamat. “Actually, hindi ko inexpect na magiging part ako ng boyband kasi ‘yung height ko, siyempre hindi naman siya matangkad. Kasi ‘pag sinabi mong boyband, parang papasok agad sa isip ko is matatangkad. So sabi ko kay Direk [Jason Paul Laxamana] ‘nung kinuha niya ako, ‘Direk, sure po ba kayo na [sa] boyband niyo ko ilalagay?’ ‘Oo naman kasi we are promoting Pinoy pop.’ So ‘pag sinabi mong Pinoy, ang normal height naman daw ng Pinoy is 5’5”. So sabi ko, ‘Ah okay po.’ So sabi niya, ‘Perfect ka sa group para maging part ng Alamat.’ So ‘dun nagsimula ‘yung journey ko para maging Alamat member.”

Tomas further narrated, “Last year kami nagstart mag-training during pandemic. Tapos ‘nung first three months ‘nun, online lang ‘yung training namin. Kasi ang totoo talaga nito, bago pa magkaroon ng pandemic, ang audition talaga is [sa] mall. Tapos nagkaroon ng pandemic, naging online na lang. Tapos si Direk, kilala na niya ko before pa mag-Alamat, ta’s chinachat niya raw ako before, hindi raw ako nagrereply. Hindi pa kasi ako marunong gumamit ng social media kasi hindi ako magaling sa cellphone kaya ayun. Tapos ngayon, nakuha ako para sa Alamat.”

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A post shared by Tomás (@alamat.tomas)

Talking about director Jason Paul Laxamana, Tomas said, “Sabi niya kasi mukha raw talaga akong Pinoy na Pinoy. So, perfect for the group.

“Tapos ayun mahilig din akong sumayaw, kumanta kasi even before pa, ‘yun talaga ‘yung ginagawa ko. Nasa section ako ng school namin, which is ‘yun ‘yung ginagawa ko, kumanta, sumayaw. Nasa Orchestra ako before. Musically-inclined talaga.”

According to Tomas, he is very happy to be part of this new P-pop group, which debuted on February 14, 2021.

“Sobrang happy ako na maging part ng Alamat dahil nagagawa ko at the same time ‘yung gusto ko. ‘Yung passion ko. Tapos, nakakatulong ako sa family ko. And, new friends, parang mga kapatid ko na kasi wala akong kapatid na lalaki so parang sila ‘yung binigay sa’kin ni Bathala na brothers. So sobrang thankful ako na ako pa ‘yung panganay ng group,” the 23-year-old said, referring to his Alamat co-members.

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A post shared by Tomás (@alamat.tomas)

Composed of six members namely Tomas, Taneo, Mo, R-Ji, Alas, and Jao, some of the songs that Alamat released include “Kbye,” “Kasmala,” “Porque,” and “ABKD.”