Mom says Jessica Sanchez proud to be Filipino

type='html'>MANILA. Philippines -- Editha Sanchez, the mother of "American Idol" runner-up Jessica Sanchez, came to the defense of her daughter, saying the young singer considers herself a Filipino.

In an interview with ABS-CBN News on Tuesday, Editha said Jessica actually grew up closer to her Filipino relatives.

"I'm Filipino, she's half Filipino, half Mexican. But she's closer to my family than she is with her dad's family. She's growing up in more of a Filipino culture than a Mexican culture. She's proud to be Filipino and I'm proud about that," she said.

Editha also commented on the remarks made by Charice's manager Courtney Blooding on Twitter last week where she raised her doubts about Sanchez being "part of Filipino pride."
"Oh my gosh! I think, to me, it's unfortunate that it's negative. But it's awesome that it's Charice. She's amazing and Jessica thinks she's amazing," she said.

Editha said Jessica actually feels honored that she is being compared to another international singing sensation.

"It is a privilege to be compared to Charice Pempengco. It is unfortunate that what's coming out is a little negative but it's awesome because we look up to Charice, we know about her. She's a great singer. You don't find a lot of singers like that," she said.

Editha said Jessica thinks Charice's voice is phenomenal and to be compared to her is an honor.

Overwhelming reception

Meanwhile, Editha shared that she and Jessica still get overwhelmed by everything that's happening to her right now.

"It still hasn't hit me yet. I'm just taking it day by day. There's so much that has happened, when I think about it, it's just crazy. I feel blessed and I'm so proud of her. She's done so much at a young age and she's worked so hard," she said.

While she knew that her daughter would have a singing career someday, Editha said she wasn't prepared for something this huge.

"Jessica is my daughter. I've always known that she's gonna do music, this is gonna be her career, but I didn't know that it's gonna be like this. I wasn't prepared for this basically," she said.

According to Editha, they never had the chance to bond as a family since " American Idol" started.
"We've been living in hotels since January. Being with the boys, with my husband, we haven't done that since December. It's just crazy," she said.

She and Jessica, however, are hoping they could spend time together soon when they go back in San Diego.

Jessica will be staying in the Philippines for a few more days but she vowed that she will be coming back next year.