PINOY GUTS
FLIGHT STEWARD IS AUSTRALIAN SURVIVOR
Jericho Malabonga, 29, went from toilet cleaner to Sole Survivor Tuesday night after winning the fourth season of “Australian Survivor.” He survived 55 days in Upolo, Samoa and went home with $500,000 after besting 23 other castaways.
Malabonga is an international flight attendant for Qantas and he does not intend to leave that job anytime soon, despite winning half a million dollars.
“I love my job,” the Daily Telegraph quoted Malabonga in an interview. “I’m not going to let this massive thing affect my job. I worked really hard for my job. Before I was even a flight attendant, I was a cabin cleaner. I was cleaning toilets and I was humbled by that.”
“And before I was a cabin cleaner I was in catering in the kitchen among conveyor belts doing repetitive work in hair nets. I worked for it. I don’t think I would let this prize money change something I worked really hard for.”
He is also quite unsure of how to spend the money since he did not have much of it through most of his life. According to the Daily Mail, he arrived in Australia three years ago and was unemployed. His first job was cleaning toilets at Jetstar.
“I think the most expensive thing I’ve ever bought in my entire life is a GoPro and that was like $400,” he said.
Malabonga garnered four votes from the jurors to his runner-up Tara Pitt’s three during the tribal council vote.