Franco Laurel presented Bella Mariano with the Listeners’ Choice Award at the Billboard Philippines Women In Music.

As an actor and singer, Laurel shined a light on the difficulties in the world of entertainment and how he commends Mariano for overcoming them with such grace. “As a fellow actor and singer, I understand that sometimes the road to fame can be filled with roadblocks. Belle has shown true grit in facing the small challenges like detractors – which every rising star has – to big ones like the closing of her home channel,” he says.

Laurel continues, “Through all of this Belle has proven to be a survivor and has come out bigger than ever, from conquering the small screen to dominating the music scenes.”

Subscribe to Billboard Philippines’ YouTube channel here.