Will Ashley reveals he wrote 'Paborito' for Mika Salamanca

Will Ashley revealed that he wrote his song “Paborito” for fellow former “Pinoy Big Brother: Celebrity Collab Edition” housemate Mika Salamanca, whom he admitted he had a crush on during their first week in the reality show.

The Sparkle star made the revelation during his guesting on "Fast Talk with Boy Abunda" Friday.

“‘Paborito’ is about a person who is my favorite. I actually wrote it for her,” he said.

Will opened up about how his admiration for Mika grew into romantic feelings, sharing that he initially kept his feelings indirect. He had first shared his crush with his fellow "PBB" housemates, who then teased him about it in front of Mika.

“It wasn’t a direct thing; it was more like some teasing. I had mentioned it to the housemates I was with, and they were the ones who teased me about Mika,” Will said in Filipino.

“At the time, I truly admired her because her personality was just wonderful. She was incredible in how she interacted with people. I was also really impressed by her capacity for empathy—the way she would reach out to others—not to mention her talent."

After leaving the “PBB” house, Will found the courage to express his feelings more openly.

“Because after we got out, there was still a period of, I think, two or three weeks. It happened a few weeks after we left. We were on good terms when we got out, and that was actually when I truly expressed how I felt,” he said.

“At that time, I was really bold—perhaps because ‘PBB’ taught me to be thick-skinned, to be completely uninhibited, to have absolutely no shame. The real lesson I took away from ‘PBB’ was to fully commit to whatever opportunity is given to you, so that you won’t have any regrets in the end. In other words: take the risk, or lose the chance,” he added.

Will recalled telling Mika, “I’m starting to like you,” explaining that he felt happy whenever they were together.

However, he admitted that he still had doubts about pursuing his feelings at the time, as they had only recently left the "PBB" house.

However, Mika did not immediately reciprocate his feelings.

Despite the rejections, Will continued to pursue her, eventually asking her to give him one month to demonstrate his sincerity.

“I told her, ‘Give me one month. If things really aren’t working out— okay. Give me one month. I’ll prove it to you. I’ll show you what I can offer you. I truly want to take care of you.’”

Mika agreed to give him a chance, but Will said their relationship did not immediately develop into a romance.

“The timing just didn’t allow for what I wanted at that moment—we still had so many other things to do, Tito Boy—and I truly respected that, given that we have different career paths. We aren’t actually together, that was really just within the context of PBB,” he said.

After several rejections, they eventually agreed to keep their relationship platonic rather than force something that was not yet meant to happen.

“And then, after a few rejections, things became platonic. We basically decided to just let it be—to leave it alone for the time being. It wasn’t difficult for me, though, because we were both very vocal. Our
relationship—Mika’s and mine—was extremely open; we were very straight to the point,” he said.

Will revealed that his courtship did not end there.

“It took me a while to say anything because I was still unsure—I wondered if it was too soon, or if I was just rushing things again. I kept questioning myself, asking, ‘Is it the right time?’” Will recalled.

“Eventually, I asked her if I could court her again—if I could try once more—especially since we’ve been through so much together. In a way, all the challenges we faced actually brought us closer and allowed us to get to know each other even better,” he said.

This time, Mika agreed to let him pursue her again.

However, when Tito Boy asked whether they were already officially together, Will clarified that they were still in the courtship stage.

“Not yet. Nothing yet. It’s more like... the courting stage. Right now, we’re just enjoying what’s happening in our lives,” he said.

Will co-wrote his debut song “Paborito” with singer-songwriter Maki and StarPop head Roque “Rox” Santos. It was released in August.

In September, the Nation’s Son held an album launch where Mika was among the guest performers.

Mika and Will are set to star in the upcoming Kapuso series “Delivery Boi,” which premieres on October 19.

—Jade Veronique Yap/CDC, GMA News