MANILA, Philippines?MTV Philippines? new VJs have big shoes to fill.

Kat Alano, Andi Manzano and Sib Sibulo are taking over the slots left by Donita Rose, Cindy Kurleto and KC Concepcion.

?They were really good,? Andi said when the current trio sat down with Inquirer Entertainment recently.

?It?s an honor to be in this group," added Kat, a former ?Wowowee? co-host.

Kat, Andi and Sib were picked from over a hundred finalists in the MTV VJ Hunt 2007 held at the SM Mall of Asia. Former names on the elite list are Francis Magalona, Marc Abaya, Belinda Panelo, KC Montero, Sarah Meier, Shannen Torres, Patty Laurel and Mariel Rodriguez. The search has been held every two years since 1997.

How was the VJ Hunt experience?

Sib: Only 12 of us competed in the finals, six boys and six girls. We were given some weird tasks. We went camping ? my team won.

Kat: My team lost so we had to pitch the tents, build a bonfire and cook from tin cans. We also did something a la ?Project Runway,? redesigning our outfits. For the character challenge, we picked one character and acted it out. I was Electra, Andi was Velma of ?Scooby Doo.?

Andi: We had a Forbidden Questions session with Mo Twister.

Kat: For the interview challenge, we talked to someone we totally didn?t know and had 10 minutes to prepare. I interviewed Ariel of ?Ariel and Maverick.? It was crazy! He was trying to throw me off the whole time. I thought I did badly, but I won that round.

Sib: I interviewed Mark Bautista. I didn?t do that very well because I?m used to interviewing wacko kids in general.

Andi: I interviewed Ramon Bautista, a teacher. He?s very intelligent. I learned a lot from him.

Sib, how did your Jack TV experience help?

Sid: Two years in Jack TV honed my hosting skills. One day, you just realize you?ve stopped flinching in front of the camera.

Do you have specific shows assigned to you now?

Kat: We have yet to get our own shows. We have ?Time Out,? which we do in rotation. We also do ?Gimme Ten? and ?Campus Crashers.? We cover events, host gigs. I went to Palawan, and Hong Kong to cover the Shopping Festival. Andi visited Cagayan Valley.

Sid: They don?t send me anywhere? I don?t look good naked.

Are we about to see a better MTV Philippines now that it?s repackaged and need not look like MTV Singapore?

Kat: Yeah. There will be more localized shows.

Sid: We?re planning a show similar to ?TRL? (Total Request Live, broadcast live from MTV?s New York studio in Times Square).

The competition between MTV and Myx is intense. How are you approaching this?

Kat: They?re both music channels but they have different flavors and target audiences. Myx is pang-masa talaga. MTV caters to everybody.

Sid: MTV picks VJs who know their music? like rocker Marc Abaya or KC Montero. Myx VJs are the same people you see on noontime shows.

Andi: MTV is about music and youth culture. We?ll soon be having travelogues, too.

Kat: We have ?MTV Exit,? about exploitation and human trafficking. We have things that educate the youth because we know that we have a social responsibility.

Do you share your ideas with the production team? How much of your input actually make it to the show?

Andi: We will meet with them soon to discuss what we want, and what we think MTV needs. For example, maybe a game show.

Sid: I?d like a dating show!