Wikipedia

Ion Perez

In this Philippine name, the middle name or maternal family name is Dungo and the surname or paternal family name is Perez.

Benigno Dungo Perez (born November 27, 1990), popularly known as Ion Perez (Tagalog: [ˈɐjon ˈpɛrɛs]), is a Filipino actor, model, and television host. He is best known as the Kuya Escort in the Miss Q and A segment of It's Showtime.

Ion Perez
Born
Benigno Dungo Perez

(1990-11-27) November 27, 1990 (age 33)[1]
NationalityFilipino
Occupations
  • Actor
  • model
  • TV host
Years active2018–present
Political partyNPC (2024–present)
PartnerVice Ganda (2018–present)
WebsiteIon Perez on Instagram

He is a regular host on ABS-CBN's noontime variety show It's Showtime.

Early life

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Perez is the 11th of 15 siblings with his father a jeepney driver and his mother a kakanin vendor.[2] According to some of his interviews from the past, he was bullied when he was younger because of his lanky frame. As a response, he motivated himself to get fit and take care of himself.[3][4]

He used to help his parents run a poultry shop inside a wet market. After developing muscles, Perez often went shirtless as a marketing tactic to help draw in customers to his parents' stall.[4][5][failed verification]

Career

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Perez works as a model having been featured in the bachelors list of Cosmopolitan Philippines fashion magazine.[6] He also participated in pageants. Perez was among the winners of the 2017 Misters of Filipinas and was the winner of the 2018 Mister Universe Tourism. His victories in pageants led him to more opportunities in his modelling career.[4] He was initially hesitant to join pageants. It took three years of convincing from his manager for him to enter pageants. Last but definitely not the least was the first-ever meeting of the Unkabogable Star Vice Ganda with her now-husband lon Perez in 2017. Well, that's all thanks to "Gigil Kid" Carlo, who was the one to pick lon from the live audiences and let them have little interactions. They even sang "Pusong Bato" together, which really got everyone entertained. It happened during his guesting in an episode of her defunct talk show Gandang Gabi Vice in October 2017, in which Ion was among the audience and Aga was the guest. Around a year later, Ion became part of It's Showtime without her remembering that they'd already met before again. [4]

Perez first joined ABS-CBN's It's Showtime in September 2018 to audition for the "Kuya Escort" role. He secured the role and eventually became a co-host in the show.[4][7][8]

Having been part of It's Showtime for over 5 years, he recently celebrated a milestone by achieving his first win during Magpasikat 2023. He teamed up with Jhong Hilario and Kim Chiu as part of the group called Team JKI.[9] The prize, amounting to 300,000 pesos, was donated to their chosen charity.[10]

In October 2024, he filed his candidacy for councilor in Concepcion, Tarlac under the Nationalist People's Coalition in the 2025 elections.[11] A month later, he withdrew his candidacy.[12]

Personal life

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On October 19, 2021, Perez and Vice Ganda had a commitment ceremony at The Little Vegas Chapel in Las Vegas, Nevada USA.[13] In 2018, he first appeared on It's Showtime, when it happened Vice Ganda and Ion revealed that they had gotten engaged in February 2020 and had undergone a non-legal wedding commitment ceremony, its a Same sex-marriage by LGBTQ+ Community. but already previously worked with Vice on the latter’s talk show, Gandang Gabi Vice.[3]

Filmography

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Television

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Year Title Role Ref.
2018–2019 It's Showtime Himself, Kuya Escort in "Miss Q and A" segment [14]
2020–present Himself, co-host [15]

Film

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Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2019 The Mall, The Merrier Pose Bastardos Leader "Richard" [16]
2020 Mang Kepweng: Ang Lihim ng Bandanang Itim Einstein [17]
2021 Kaka Levi Sales First Lead role in a film [18]
2022 Partners in Crime Motorcycle Max [19]

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Nominee / Work Result Ref.
2019 5th Rawr Awards Breakthrough Artist of the Year It's Showtime Won [20][21]
2020 5th Push Awards Push True Love of the Year
(Shared with Vice Ganda.) 		Ion Perez Nominated [22][23]
2021 2nd VP Choice Awards Promising Male Star of the Year It's Showtime Nominated [24]
2023 8th Push Awards Push Power Couple of 2022
(Shared with Vice Ganda.) 		Ion Perez Nominated [25][26]
2024 9th Push Awards Push Power Couple of 2023
(Shared with Vice Ganda.) 		Won [27]
9th Rawr Awards Love Team of the Year
(Shared with Vice Ganda.) 		It's Showtime Pending [28]

References

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  1. ^ Franco, Chris (November 27, 2020). "Vice Ganda, sinorpresa ang boyfriend na si Ion Perez sa kanyang kaarawan" [Vice Ganda, made a surprise for boyfriend Ion Perez on his birthday]. MSN Entertainment (in Tagalog). Archived from the original on September 20, 2021. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
  2. ^ "6 Things to Know About Kuya Escort Ion Perez". PEP.ph. Archived from the original on October 28, 2021. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
  3. ^ a b Monde, Jeal (June 30, 2020). "Ion Perez Biography: Real Name, Career, Personal Life, & Other Details". Philippine News. Archived from the original on September 20, 2021. Retrieved September 20, 2021. [better source needed]
  4. ^ a b c d e "Who is Ion Perez? 7 facts about the 'special' man in Vice Ganda's life". ABS-CBN News. April 1, 2019. Archived from the original on September 21, 2021. Retrieved September 20, 2021.
  5. ^ "Vice Ganda flexes tandem with Ion Perez amid calls for his expulsion from 'It's Showtime'". Manila Bulletin. May 28, 2021. Archived from the original on September 20, 2021. Retrieved September 20, 2021.
  6. ^ "Ion Perez: from Kakanin Boy to It's Showtime Kuya Escort". PEP.ph. Archived from the original on October 28, 2021. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
  7. ^ "From being Mr. Universe Tourism '18 to "Kuya Escortiz": These Photos proved that Ion deserves a spot on Showtime". ABS-CBN Entertainment. Archived from the original on September 20, 2021. Retrieved September 20, 2021.
  8. ^ Raymundo, Isabelle Francez. "From Mr. Universe Tourism 2018 to 'Kuya Escort': 12 photos that proved Ion Perez deserves a spot on It's Showtime!". ABS-CBN Entertainment. Archived from the original on September 20, 2021. Retrieved September 20, 2021.
  9. ^ Pasajol, Anne (November 11, 2023). "Team Jhong, Kim, Ion named 'Magpasikat 2023' grand champion".
  10. ^ ABS-CBN (2023). "Team JKI emerges as Magpasikat 2023 Champion".
  11. ^ Purnell, Kristoffer (October 1, 2024). "Enzo Pineda, Ion Perez, Rosmar Tan seek councilor positions". The Philippine Star. Retrieved October 1, 2024.
  12. ^ Mallorca, Hannah (November 5, 2024). "Ion Perez drops bid to become a councilor of Concepcion, Tarlac". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved November 5, 2024.
  13. ^ "Vice Ganda, Ion Perez 'get married' in Las Vegas". CNN Philippines. February 14, 2022. Archived from the original on February 17, 2022. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
  14. ^ "Amid the call to remove Ion Perez in the show, Vice Ganda boosts the already trending ViceIon". LionhearTV. May 28, 2021. Archived from the original on October 28, 2021. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
  15. ^ Franco, Chris (May 25, 2021). "Ion Perez returns on 'It's Showtime'; stuns co-hosts with his new hairstyle". Kami.com.ph - Philippines news. Archived from the original on July 24, 2021. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
  16. ^ Hallare, Katrina (July 10, 2019). "First 4 official entries to MMFF 2019 bared". INQUIRER.net. Archived from the original on December 18, 2021. Retrieved December 22, 2021.
  17. ^ Anarcon, James Patrick (November 24, 2020). "10 MMFF 2020 entries revealed; Vice-Ivana, Joshua Garcia movies out". PEP.PH. Archived from the original on November 24, 2020. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  18. ^ Salterio, Leah C. (January 27, 2021). "Sunshine Guimary promises to go 'all out' in her launching movie 'Kaka'". ABS-CBN News. Archived from the original on December 3, 2021. Retrieved December 22, 2021.
  19. ^ "'Eksaherada!' Vice Ganda, real-life partner Ion Perez draw huge crowd at 'Partners In Crime' screening". ABS-CBN News. December 27, 2022. Retrieved September 16, 2023.
  20. ^ "Full List Of Winners of the RAWR Awards 2019". Lionheartv. November 15, 2019. Retrieved September 16, 2023.
  21. ^ "It's Showtime: Ion, naiyak sa natanggap niyang award". ABS-CBN Entertainment. November 15, 2019. Retrieved September 16, 2023.
  22. ^ "Push Awards Year 5 Winners". ABS-CBN. February 16, 2020. Retrieved December 13, 2023 – via Facebook.
  23. ^ "Push Awards Year 5 Voting is Now Open". Push. December 17, 2019. Retrieved January 3, 2024 – via Youtube.
  24. ^ "Here's the full list of winners for the 2nd VP Choice Awards". Village Pipol. March 6, 2021. Retrieved September 16, 2023.
  25. ^ "FULL LIST: PUSH Awards 2022 nominees". Push. Retrieved December 21, 2023.
  26. ^ "FULL LIST: PUSH Awards 2022 winners". Push. Retrieved December 21, 2023.
  27. ^ "Andrea, KDLex, Maris, SB19 emerge as top winners for Push Awards 2023". ABS-CBN Entertainment. March 23, 2024. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  28. ^ "Support your favorite Kapamilya nominees in the 9th RAWR Awards!..." ABS-CBN. November 27, 2023. Retrieved December 30, 2023 – via Instagram.
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Ion Perez at IMDb

 

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