Transgender comic Shoogar Bet veers away from the Vice Ganda mold

Gusto ko pong magkaroon ng sariling tatak (I want to have my own identity/trademark),” exclaimed standup comic Shoogar Bet.

Shoogar Bet who?

Not the Sugar Beet candy, definitely.

But Shoogar Bet who became famous as one of Luis Manzano’s mainstay comedienne in ABS-CBN’s COVID-19 pandemic game show, “Minute to Win It.”

“Mahal na mahal ko po si Kuya Lucky Manzano at mahal na mahal rin siya ako (I love him so much and he—my surrogate elder brother—also loves me),” Shoogar quipped.

When the show was axed Bet went to other showbiz exposures such as doing movies like “Sanggano, Sanggago, Sangguwapo” for Viva Films and other big and small screen appearances.

“Ayaw ko po ‘yong ordinaryong komedyante. Gusto ko po, ‘yong original ako (I don’t want to be an ordinary comedian. I want something original),” Shoogar clarified.       

She said that she wants to veer away from the likes of the Vice Ganda mold and image.

As a member of the LGBTQIA+, Shoogar dismissed society’s gender shaming and condescending attitude on gay people.

“Pinapabayaan ko na lang po sila kung tuksuhin man ako. Basta ako, ang mahalaga ay makapagtrabaho ako para may maipadala ako sa aking iniwang pamilya sa Bacolod City. Ni isang kusing ay wala pa akong naibibigay sa kanila. Namatay at namatay ang nanay ko, wala man lang akong kapera-pera (I just let go of people who bully me. What is important is that I am able to work so that I have something to send to my family. I haven’t sent them even a single centavo. My mother died but I had no money at the time),” revealed Bet whose eyes were welling with tears.           

At the moment, Shoogar is saving money from what she would earn in acting in films, one of them “Bubot sa Kagubatan” from RAC Film Productions with Angelo Carpio at the helm.