The internet has indeed the power to make or break an individual. But for street hawker Deo Balbuena, who is more popular by his screenname “Diwata,” it’s the latter since it has helped him in more ways than one as social media has not only made his humble “pares overload” business viral, but it has also turned him into an online sensation and eventually landing the role of Frida in FPJ’s Batang Quiapo.

As you scroll through social networking sites, you’ve probably encountered a slew of content about him raving on his famous “Diwata Pares Overload,” which consists of unlimited rice, soup with lechon kawali and chicharon bulaklak, and drinks. With how affordable it is and how it has become the talk of the town, his nook in Pasay City continues to draw long queues of customers who want to get a taste of this best-seller food and/or simply satisfy their hunger without breaking the budget.

And if ever you’re one of those are able to follow his journey online, then you perhaps know that Diwata is not simply a street hawker, but he also has his own YouTube channel and has already guested to a number of TV and online shows that give us a further glimpse on his inspiring and amusing life. And it’s through those media appearances that he’s able to meet some of the local celebrities who he used to only see on TV, such as the ones who appear in this gallery.

Among them are some of the stars of FPJ’s Batang Quiapo, such as actor-director Coco Martin, Ivana Alawi, Nikko Natividad, and Irma Adlawan, with whom he has already shared scenes with in the series. Its ardent viewers certainly know that his character Frida served their characters with pares at his former stall, then he became an assistant at the roadside carinderia owned by the grandma of Bubbles (Ivana) when they agreed to help him and take him in after being mugged by hooligans.

From being an online sensation, who initially came into our consciousness as the guy who strutted like a beauty queen in It’s Showtime Miss Q & A, we can say that Diwata has already gone a long way in life as he doesn’t only have a continuously booming food venture that helps both his family and employees, but a potential career in showbiz as well!

Watch out for more amusing scenes of Diwata as Frida in FPJ’s Batang Quiapo, weeknights at 8 PM, on Kapamilya Channel, Kapamilya Online Live, TV5 and A2Z.

Photos credit to Kuya JR TV FB, Diwata Pares Overload FB, Coco Martin IG, Alex Gonzaga IG