Jennylyn Mercado wows at FHM Victory Party, shrugs off lack of other Kapuso stars

FHM Sexiest Woman 2015 Jennylyn Mercado (@mercadojenny / Instagram)

MANILA — Kapuso star Jennylyn Mercado set the runway on fire at the FHM 100 Sexiest victory party 2015 at the SMX Convention Center, Pasay City Saturday night.

Mercado was named the sexiest woman in the Philippines after earning 1,017,586 votes from the FHM poll.

“Kinabahan talaga ako. Kasi first time ko itong ginawa talaga for FHM. Sa rehearsals pa lang namin, gusto kong maging maayos na,” Mercado said in an interview with the Philippine Entertainment Portal (PEP.ph).

(I was really nervous because it’s my first time to do this for FHM. Even during our rehearsals, I wanted everything to be okay.)

Mercado also performed a song and dance number at the victory party.

“Paraan ko ito para magpasalamat sa mga fans na walang sawang sumuporta sa akin from the start of my showbiz career,” she said. “Utang na loob ko sa kanila ito kaya yung promise ko na gagawin ko ito, heto na ‘yon. Kung hindi dahil sa pagmamahal nila, hindi ako magiging number one sa FHM.”

(This is my way of saying thanks to my fans who tirelessly supported me from the start of my showbiz career. I owe this to them, so I promised them that I’ll do this and this is it. If not for their love, I wouldn’t be number one on FHM.)

Half of the Top 10 Sexiest are Kapuso actresses, but only Mercado made it to the victory party.

Andrea Torres (#2), Sam Pinto (#4), Solenn Heussaff (#5), and Max Collins (#9) were no-shows at the party on Saturday night, leading some fans to believe the Kapuso actresses were “boycotting” Mercado.

When asked about the other actresses’ absence, Mercado said she doesn’t know why they didn’t make it.

“Mas naka-focus ako sa sarili ko,” she said. “Kung hindi man sila nakarating, siguro naman may dahilan. Ang importante ay nandito ako at napasaya ko ang mga umaasang rarampa ako.”

(I am more focused on myself. If they weren’t able to attend, I’m sure they have their reasons. What’s important is that I’m here and I made the fans — who were expecting me to strut the runway — really happy.)