MANILA, Philippines ? For a moment there, Joel Cruz was confused. As the name of the winner of the third edition of ?Celebrity Duets? was announced, the businessman cupped his mouth, which came across as a premature act of triumph.

Actually, Joel recalled, ?I was feeling weak and disoriented ... immediately I realized that only the first syllable had been called out: ?Jo?...? It could?ve been Jomari Yllana, a fellow finalist,? he admitted.

?I found myself asking, was there another ?Jo?...? The suspense all but killed me,? Joel recounted. ?The announcement took so long!?

The only other finalist was Brazilian-Japanese model Akihiro Sato.

Joel insisted he didn?t expect to win. ?Throughout the weeklong text-voting period, there were days I felt confident,? he said. ?But there were also times I was sure I was going to lose.?

Mildly put, it was a roller-coaster ride.

?I?d hear rumors that Bench was supporting Jomari; that Penshoppe was doing the same for Akihiro,? Joel related.

Unlike the two, he is not an endorser of any apparel line. On the other hand, the two hunks don?t own a perfume company; Joel has Aficionado.

He admitted that he used his business savvy in campaigning for text votes which landed him on top of the GMA 7 reality show.

All 800 employees of his fragrance firm, plus customers, friends and relatives, were recruited for the campaign.

Best of all, he tapped into his inner diva?which he seldom gets to do as an entrepreneur. Why, he would never attend a business meeting outfitted as Little Orphan Annie or Sailor Moon, as he did on the show.

?I have always been strict in the workplace,? he said. ?Now my employees say, ?Sir, nagawa n?yo ?yon?? When I watch videos of my performances, I also ask myself, ?How did I???

But why?

The more important question is: Why? For Joel, it was clear from the start. ?For my pet charities.?
That was enough to fuel his pursuit, so much so that he wasn?t distracted even by a controversy that pitted him against another contestant, actress-director Gina Alajar.

?That was part of the game,? said Joel, the third winner of the local franchise, following Inquirer columnist Tessa Prieto-Valdes and government official Bayani Fernando.

Even Alajar said, ?There was no intrigue. I?m happy for Joel. We should be happy for someone who gets what he wants.?

E-mail: bayanisandiego@hotmail.com