MANILA, Philippines—Before intrigue-mongers can hype her move from ABS-CBN to GMA 7’s women’s channel QTV, Charlene Gonzalez makes things crystal clear.

No labels, please

She’s a freelancer, she clarifies. “I’m open to working with anyone. It’s just that now I’m working with QTV. I will always be grateful to the people I worked with in the past. The industry is so small. I don’t want to burn bridges.”

Her last hosting gig was the ABS-CBN lifestyle show, “At Home Ka Dito,” which wrapped in November last year.

The question persists: Is she now a Kapuso, even though husband Aga Muhlach remains a Kapamilya?

“I don’t have a label,” she asserts. “If I must, I would label myself only as someone who’s very passionate about her work.”

For this very reason, she was hired to host the QTV women’s show “Proudly Filipina” after the recent resignation of original host Daphne Oseña-Paez.

Charlene is set to make her debut on “Proudly” in the end of February.

Melo Esguerra, program manager, explains that Gonzalez, as a host, is known in the industry as “dedicated.”

Gonzalez relates that she is preparing herself “mentally, emotionally and physically" for the new venture.

“Physically, I’ve been working out. Mentally, I’ve been doing a lot of reading,” she says. “I plan to do plenty of research before interviewing each guest.”

That’s the least she can do, she points out. “Our guest gave us her precious time. I should devote as much time to her.”

She says she is “thrilled” by the show’s concept of paying homage to the county’s women achievers.

“My hope is that viewers will be inspired by their success stories, that they will feel empowered to make positive changes in their own lives.”