MISS PHILIPPINES-EARTH 2012: A DÉJÀ VU?

by Jetset Alejandro

I have looked forward to the airing of Miss Philippines-Earth 2012 at TFC a day after the pageant was held as I am out of the country and cannot watch the live proceedings of the pageant. It feels like déjà vu watching it. To acquaint some of the readers about the meaning of déjà vu, it means “already seen” or having experienced it some other time. Well, it really seems it is. Why do I say it? The scoring system is patterned after the Miss World Contest that I have watched in recent times. The challenges are different and varied as seen in this pageant. And the winner, it seems like I have seen a similar winner in the Miss World Philippines pageant who eventually became First Princess in the Miss World 2011. And lastly, it was boring and to say the least, the Miss World Beauty Pageant bored me to death. However this pageant was just a notch higher as it bored me only to the brink of death.

Let me painstakingly make a run down of what the pageant was all about:

THE VENUE AND THE STAGE:

The venue is at the SM Mall of Asia Center Stage. It is the latest offering of SM for its entertainment arm. Considered the top of the entertainment areas at present, we were in awe how grand and spacious the stage was. There was not much stage design seen but I surmised the interplay of the lights was supposed to take over the grandeur but it did not.

THE PRODUCTION NUMBER:

We were introduced to a dazzling jazz number by selected dancers (probably ABS-CBN dancers) when we saw the entrance of the first set of candidates with similar outfits and with a blue shoulder shawl. Then they were followed by other candidates with similarly colored outfits but this time with no shoulder shawls. The candidates gyrated onstage and swayed their hands and simply, there was not much variation or excitement created by the production number. I just felt that the production number should be an imprimatur to the big bang ahead but nay, it just created a ripple. Add to this is the camera panning which lacks focus and clarity and of course, the lighting which makes us difficult to discern what is happening onstage. I have this complaint about lighting during the Miss Earth 2011 and Binibining Pilipinas 2012 production and yet ABS-CBN does not seem to listen to gripes from spectators on TV like us. They should up their ante concerning this in order to satisfy their viewing customers. In any way, it should always be the dictum, “the customer is always right.”

THE HOSTS:

We were introduced to the hosts of the pageant in the person of Marc Nelson, Rovilson Fernandez and Ginger Conejero. Marc seemed detached and uninspired. Rovilson upped his vigor but he rubs the audience and Ginger tried very much to put the proceeding to a higher level and sometimes succeeds but just so-so most of the time. Further, Rovilson irks me more when he was introducing the members of the Board of Judges when he makes side-remarks after formally introducing them. Hosting decorum please for Rovilson.

THE JUDGES:

1.      Mr. Frederick Alegre –ADBOARD

2.      Gen. Lina Sarmiento –PNP Chief Superintendent

3.      Ms. Christine Cunanan – Travel life Executive Officer

4.      Mr. Joey Mendoza – Executive Officer for SM Supermarkets

5.      Miss Empress Schuck – Artist,Actress, Model Philippines

6.      Mr. Bryan McClelland – Fil-Am Socio-Ecological Entrepreneur

7.      Mr. Raffy Chico- Best Western Premier Manager

8.      Ms. Shalani Soledad-Romulo –Valenzuela City Councilor

9.      Hon. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel – Senator, Republic of the Philippines

10.   Ms. Rachel Grant –Actress, TV Model Host

11.   Ambassador Extraordinaire of Indonesia to the Philippines – H.E. Kristiato Llegogo

THE SWIMSUIT ROUND

All the candidates paraded in their swimsuits. It seemed like eternity seeing all the 47 candidates parading in front of the audience. Since all the candidates needed to be presented in their swimwear, there is no clear focusing on the particular candidates. The lighting and panning are again very wanting. After the swimsuit round, the first set of finalists was announced and they are as follows:

1.      Miss San Juan City – Samantha Purvor

2.      Miss Negros Oriental – Glenna Duch

3.      Miss San Francisco, Cebu – Princess Leiza Manzon

4.      Miss Tabuk City – Glennifer Perido

5.      Miss Puerto Princesa City – Thoreen Halvorsen

THE EVENING GOWN COMPETITION

The girls again paraded in their evening gowns. As the girls are sashaying in their evening gowns, the group of 4 ABS-CBN talents (Boys are Boys) performed. I really don’t understand why they have to allow this travesty. At the outset, the boys came out flat on their song and they never recovered till the end. It is disaster at my end and again, it irked me just like having Rovilson as one of the hosts for the pageant. After the evening gown parade, the next set of 5 was announced as follows:

6.      Miss Quezon City – Stephany Dianne Stefanowitz

7.      Miss Fil-Belgium – Roxanne Corluy

8.      Miss Muntinlupa City – Kathleen Subijano

9.      Miss Indang Cavite – Jaydielou Dilidli

10.   Miss Vigan City –Mary Candice Ramos

THE QUESTION AND ANSWER PORTION

We saw all the candidates in Tan Gan’s gowns which were pretty beautiful and elegant. Let us have a run down again of how the girls answered:

1. Samantha Purvor was asked how fun was San Juan City? She answered that people in San Juan City are warm, loving and compassionate. She went further by trying to beat around the bush. Oh oh. Hmmmm….Seems like the crown is not for her.
2. Glenna Duch of Negros Oriental was asked what the causes of climate change are. Well she gave an answer and went further how we can overcome climate changes. She was eloquent though but I don’t know how the judges would find her answer.
3. Princess Leiza Mazon of San Francisco, Cebu was asked what type of renewable energy she recommends the country would use. She answered it should be solar energy because as a tropical country we are blessed with the sun all year round. She wanted to say more but because she heard the bell, it seems like she would like to expand her answer more. But in reality, she had nailed the answer only that she gave an uncertain look after she answered.
4. Glennifer Perido was asked about the environment suffering from the results of economic development. What can she say about it? She said, a country needs to be developed for the betterment of the people but it should not be at the expense of the environment. The pros and cons of a project should be discussed and that its effects in the environment should be tackled. She said that if we lose the environment, the future will not be good.
5. Thoreen Halvorsen of Puerto Princesa was asked about a question about the Underground River’s being adjudged as one of the New 7 wonders of the world. What does she think be done to protect the place so that future generations can enjoy the place? She said the government in Puerto Princesa is doing everything to make the place sustainable and that only 500 tourists per day will be allowed to see the place.
6. Stephany Dianne Stefanowitz of Quezon City was asked if she had any super powers what would it be and how will this super power help preserve Mother Earth. She answered that she would like to have a super power to clean the environment so that the future generation can have a clean place to live in.
7. Fil-Belgium’s representation, Roxanne Colruy said she will push forward environmental concerns as part of her projects when asked what she can do as a winner of the pageant. She said other things but I was not able to pick it up since most the candidates seem to rush their answers because of the 30 seconds limit to answer the question.
8. Kathleen Subijano of Muntinlupa City was asked how will she teach the children about environmental preservation and she quipped that it is really important to start with the children and she has a niece for whom she can start teaching the ways of protecting the environment.
9. Miss Indang in the person of Jaydielou Dilidli was asked what she had learned about joining the pageant. She remarked that she learned about the concept of sustainability. And that we should look at sustainable and renewable sources of energy.
10. Lastly, Miss Vigan City Mary Candice Ramos was asked about the biggest environmental problem and what she thinks is the answer to this problem. She answered about sustainability and she enumerated a barrage of answers and made it difficult for me to follow her trend of thought but she seemed so confident of her answers and quite eloquent.

THE FAREWELL WALK

Outgoing Athena Imperial made her last walk as Miss Philippines-Earth and she did it in the Tagalog language. She was followed by her court after. It was supposed to be a touching gesture but it seemed like a put on to me. I wonder though.

ANNOUNCEMENT OF WINNERS:

The announcement was quick. After the 10 finalists answered the questions, the 5 winners were announced from them. In previous selections, a Top 5 was called and they were asked same question from where the eventual winners are crowned. The following are the winners:

            Miss Philippines-Eco-Tourism : Miss Vigan City

            Miss Philippines-Fire: Miss Puerto Princesa City

            Miss Philippines-Water: Miss San Juan City

            Miss Philippines-Air: Miss Tabuk City

            Miss Philippines- Earth: Miss Quezon City

TIDBITS:

1. My personal Top 5 were Vigan City, Pagadian City, San Juan City, Tabuk City and Quezon City. I correctly predicted 4 in the Top 5 with almost the same ranking except Pagadian City. I don’t know why Puerto Princesa was out of my radar. The reason probably is that her pictures do not do her justice. One of our writers even questioned her inclusion as one of the finalists in the evening gown competition. But come to think about it, watching her last night at TFC I must admit I overlooked her qualities. Note that the winning Top 5 came from the cities.
2. As to the Top 10, I correctly predicted 8 out of 10. As told earlier, Pagadian City is one of my favorites. I see in her a diva from her looks alone. Can this be the reason why she was eased out of the Top 10? Another personal favorite is Miss Cabugao. Miss San Francisco, Cebu placed in the Top 10 instead.
3. I don’t know if the reason of announcing the first five of semi-finalists after the swimsuit round is just for novelty. I don’t see any other reason. Then the other five is after the evening gown round. Is it to underscore the fact that Miss San Juan City topped the swimsuit round and then the evening gown was topped by Miss Quezon City? Well, for one, I find the process so disjointed and it did not appeal to me. I would have preferred that the ten girls were announced after the production number and they compete for the swimsuit and evening gown rounds. Then a casual interview is done to select the Top 5 and from where they are asked a final question.
4. Every year, there are innovations into the Miss Philippines-Earth Beauty pageant and since there is no consistency, pageant observers do not know what to expect. This is good in a sense since everyone is kept on guessing what it would be for a particular year. But these innovations sometimes put the organization in question because of their penchant for change. Take for example last year where only 10 candidates mattered during the final pageant and thus, eventually crowning someone that pageant fans dislike.  In fairness though, the organization was transparent about their scoring system for the challenges that would constitute preliminary scores plus their scores with the pre-judging panel. However, they should have placed a percentage of how much will come from the challenge scores and how much will come from the pre-judging interview and personality scores. I am saying this because a lot are questioning Miss Mandaluyong’s inclusion in the Top 10 because she only garnered a score of 74 in the challenges and there were quite a number that had a higher score than her.
5. The Miss Philippines-Earth season just came after the heels of the Binibining Pilipinas Beauty pageant and that after the Binibini season, it zaps out pageant fans energy and enthusiasm. Truth to tell, our interest with Miss Philippines-Earth has dampened not only a bit but to some extent. The town/province representation should be more strengthened but candidates which are of better and of international caliber should be chosen. I still prefer the regional representations. The candidates are better chosen in the regionals.

Photo Credits: Miss Philippines-Earth.com, ABS-CBN

NICOLE SCHMITZ : A NEW HOPE FOR ANOTHER MISS INTERNATIONAL CROWN

by Raphael Porciuncula




“I would rather be someone respected. Because that means if you maintain your integrity, dignity and self-respect, and that means, in turn you will be loved by whoever matters and everyone loves you.” – Nicole Schmitz, Binibining Pilipinas International 2012

All this girl really needs is just the ticket to go to Okinawa, Japan this coming October since she’s very much ready to compete. Everyone is excited about her and when she was announced as the representative to the Miss International pageant, many pageant fans were upset because they were rooting for her to represent the country in the Miss Universe Beauty pageant. This girl was born in Sidney, New South Wales, Australia on June 28, 1988 to retired chef Udo Schmitz and Filipinas salesperson Leilani Maturan. Her mother is from the Queen City of Cebu.

Nicole is no stranger to beauty pageants. At the age of 16, she was Miss Teen Philippines First Runner-up and went on to win later the Miss Mandaue Philippines 2006 where she was Best in National Costume and evening gown. This was quickly followed the year after with a semi-finalist performance at the Binibining Pilipinas 2007. She was chosen as Miss Avon at that time. When she went back to Australia, she joined Model Quest Australia where she was adjudged as the winner in 2007. The awards she got were Best in Ramp, Best in Street Wear, Best in Swimsuit and Best in Evening Gown. A year after, Nicole joined the Miss Philippines-Australia contest where she was adjudged as the winner and with special awards such as Best in Long Gown, Best in Swimsuit, Best in National Costume and Miss Photogenic. The array of titles and awards speak for Nicole’s great performance onstage. Nicole does not only possess these pageant credentials, she had also ramp, print, TV Hosting and Presenting experiences. She was seen on numerous commercials and magazine layouts.

When asked why she joined back Binibining Pilipinas 2012, she answered that “It is something that she dreamt of for so long as she wanted to represent the other half of herself (Nicole has dual citizenship ; Australia and Philippines) in an international beauty pageant. Her winning the Binibining Pilipinas International title is her gateway to competing with other girls from different parts of the world. She said she had been passionate about this goal and the only way to make this a reality is join the contest once again. She said, she needs to get this out of her system before she gets older and cannot qualify anymore for any pageant.

Now that she had been crowned Binibining Pilipinas International, she will not rest on her laurels and believe the people that she is all ready to join the Miss International Pageant even it is to be held now. She takes the challenge with so much concern that she is ready to undergo the rigorous training Binibining Pilipinas will give them. She will also take a long look into her terpsichorean skills and will try to polish her dance steps to prepare her further in her international contest. She is an optimist and she promises all those who believed her that she will try as much as possible not to leave any stones unturned just to get ready for the contest.

By winning the national title, she says that this would open a lot of doors for her. Although there are so many opportunities knocking at the door now, her main concern is to prepare for her international pageant. Some people attribute her appeal to the combination of her Fil-German heritage and she is very thankful for the complement. Although she is a veteran on stage, she still looks at Rodgil Flores as the source of the confidence she essayed in the contest. Her training under him made her in good stead.

Nicole despite her Fil-European ancestry and generally grew up in Sidney, she always looks at Cebu, her mother’s birthplace as her second home. She looks at Cebu with so much fondness – the natural beauty of the place, the people and its colorful culture. Her stay in the Philippines is mostly in Cebu and life is always joy in every sense.

Nicole has adapted quite well with life in the Philippines. She is always thankful with all the people complimenting about her beauty. She says that she is a product of intermarriage and that you don’t define people by the way they look. The Filipino people are an intermixing of different cultures and thus there is no singular look of who and what a Filipina should be. We should celebrate this occurrence and thus project the new Filipina in the any world stage and be proud to celebrate that heritage.

As a pageant observer, she is my Top bet to win the Miss Universe Philippines crown. Although she did not win the Top plum, she won the Binibining Pilipinas International crown. She will be competing either in China or Japan where her mestiza features would be well-appreciated. Her communication skills are above par and thus it would prove her stead well when she delivers her speech in front of the judges.

Indeed Nicole is a very fine young lady who finished a bachelor degree in Psychology and is presently finishing her Law Degree at the Macquarie University in Australia. Kudos to my personal bet.

PHOTO CREDITS: Joy Ann Burton-Titular, Ron Titular, BPCI, Emerson Cebanico, WZ2012, Pinoystar blog, watchmisspageant.com, ABS-CBN, Mingsworldtravel.biz

PHILIPPINES' BET TO MISS UNIVERSE CROWNED: MISS JANINE MARI TUGONON

by Rainier Abad-Santos

                                     “Truth is beauty, beauty is truth” - Plato

The beauty of a woman had been appreciated centuries and centuries ago. In the annals of archeology and history, there were definite evidences that beauty had been appreciated in women in various forms. In the Philippines, we can see this encompassing all cultural forms, the women are adorned to make them look more beautiful, dignified and adored. Although pageants with grand proportion were done through money raising and popularity during the early days of infancy of pageants, women from the alta sociedad class lord it over the indios or the lower class. Even in the last few decades of Philippine pageantry we see the participation of the abled class until this recent milieu where we now have the democratized participation of everyone. Beauty pageants have evolved and transformed and it has never been the same.  

The Binibining Pilipinas Beauty Pageant is the most popular beauty pageant in the Philippines today not only because of its rich history of winners but because it handles the search for the representative of the country to the most popular international beauty pageant which is the Miss Universe Beauty Pageant. Year in, year out, the choices were controversial in the sense that the results do not conform to the pageant fans preferences and even to some extent the options of the international observers. In this modern times when people becomes part of a community of pageant enthusiasts through the internet by social media, exchanges in ideas are just at the tip of the finger. In an instant, whatever that is happening in one part of the globe is being shared to all over the world.

In this recent edition of the beauty pageant, a cacophony of ideas and responses came out when the recent winners were declared. Because of this the The Binibining Pilipinas Charities Inc. which is the organization that handles the pageant had come out of a statement saying that the candidates  went through the screening, selection, official events, pre-pageant and coronation night all with the same chances to win any crown. The 30 girls did work hard to pursue their dreams and fate had it that the winners were proclaimed because they were the judges’ choices.

The pageant’s focus of their ire is the selection of Janine Marie Tugonon, the first runner-up of last year who re-joined the competition this year and was lucky to be crowned as the new Miss Universe Philippines for 2012. Who by the way is Janine Mari Tugonon?

Janine Mari is a 22 year old young lady who stood 5’9” tall and is the daughter of Teresita Raymundo of Balanga, Bataan and Jose Mari Tugonon of Aringay, La Union. From her name alone, we see that her second name was lifted from the second name of her father. Janine however, grew up in Balanga and later transferred to Manila to further her studies.

She is a B.S. Pharmacy graduate of the University of Sto. Tomas and she graduated Cum Laude. She later took the board examination for Pharmacists in 2010 and she was one of the top-ranked passers that year. Janine is also a ballet dancer and has trained with Ballet Manila under the tutelage of prima ballerina Lisa Macuja. 

Janine is not new to the pageant circle. She was crowned Miss Thomasian Personality 2010 as she represented her college as Miss Pharmacy. Janine is not also new in come from behind victory. She was not the clear favorite during the Miss Thomasian Personality 2010 as one candidate (Joanna Cindy V. Miranda of Tourism and Hospitality Management) was lording over her in the special awards. But when the Question and Answer portion came, she gave a dignified answer that entrenched her to become the winner that night.

Janine as First Runner-up (far right) during last years' Binibining Pilipinas Beauty Pageant as she joined (L-R) Mary Jean Lastimosa (2nd runner-up), Isabella Manjon (Miss Tourism Philippines), Shamcey Supsup (Miss Universe Philippines) and Dianne Necio (Miss International Philippines)

Fresh from those triumphs, Janine participated in last years’ Binibining Pilipinas Beauty Pageant. Not in the list of possible winners, from out of nowhere, she stole the thunder of the brightest star that night, she landed a first runner-up position while MJ Lastimosa, a favorite of pageant fans, was only second runner-up.

Amidst bickering and debates among pageant fans, she was crowned as the new Miss Universe Philippines 2012 in a pageant of pomp and glamour. Janine was both competitive in the swimsuit and evening gown competition. Although pageant critics say that the swimsuit segment was her waterloo, she was not just in the middle of the pack but well within reach of those who possess the best bodies. In the evening gown segment, she glowed in her white gown and everyone admitted she is a force to reckon with that night.

“I believe that women have the right to choose between what they want. But for me, you have to go for what God has called you to do whatever it is between the two. You must do what’s your purpose in the world. Just have a childlike faith and matured obedience then everything will go smooth.” 

And when the question by Mr. Jose Manuel Romualdez was asked of her, she towered among all the 12 semi-finalists. The question that gave her the remarkable come from behind victory again was: “Many women nowadays will go a happy family life or a scucesful career. How do you feel about this? Janine answered in the following way: “I believe that women have the right to choose between what they want. But for me, you have to go for what God has called you to do whatever it is between the two. You must do what’s your purpose in the world. Just have a childlike faith and matured obedience then everything will go smooth.” She thanked the judge who gave the question and the audience.

There was no looking back for Candidate Number 18 as the night was hers. She was eventually crowned the best of all on April 15, 2012 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum as the new Miss Universe Philippines.

Photo Credits: Ron Titular, Paul Cortes, BPCI, Rosemarie Tugonon, Pinoy Star Blog, James Manayon, ABS-CBN, ph.beuatymania.biz and missosology.info

THE BINIBINING PILIPINAS 2012 PUZZLE: A PAGEANT REVIEW AND ANALYSIS

By Jetset Alejandro

Every year, I make predictions for the winners of the Binibini and when I do so, I intellectualize and analyze the candidates as well as the choices of others for me to make my enlightened choices. However, what usually comes out as the winners are what my heart desires. For this year, it was the my enlightened choices that won and yet when we at Queentessence came out of our Hotpicks, I insisted that we discuss them based on our individual choices and finally made our picks. Of course, when we made the choices, we were not given the chance to evaluate the candidates come pageant day since there were a lot of possible changes to the ranking.


Let us now evaluate the pageant as a whole.


THE STAGE:

I fully understood why this year, they have to trim down the candidates to 30 as the stage would not accommodate all 40 candidates. The 40 candidates would be cramped in the stage and the candidates would look like fishes in the ocean ready to be prepared into sardines. I believe the original 24 candidates would be much viable in this kind of stage. The stage design was a glittering silver motif with different designs of trapezoids and triangle like objects. At the right side of the stage is a design which is very much like the appliqués placed on evening gowns. It is also silvery in color but when light plays on it, it gives you the feeling that it is a shining emerald. Very nice effect indeed!


THE AUDIENCE:

The pageant audience is a mix of pomp and glamour and fans. The fans really did give life to the proceedings. They were there to spice the life of the candidates that they are supporting. Although there was too much uproar, it made the proceedings more fun.


PRODUCTION NUMBER:

The Brazilian number was a poor copy of the Brazilian production number of last year’s Miss Universe. The outfits were poor copies also. The candidates gyrated to the samba like sound and they were clad in three distinct color samba outfits. Candidates 1-10 were in orange outfit. Candidates 11-20 were in fuschia pink outfits and Candidates 21-30 were in yellow outfits. Interim to the production number is the presentation of the girls. They presented themselves stating their names, place of residence and age. After the presentation, the girls finished their production number to give way to the presentation of the pageant hosts and annotators.


PAGEANT HOSTS:

The pageant hosts were Xian Lim, Venus Raj, Iza Calzado and Georgina Wilson. The main hosts were Xian Lim and Iza Calzado with Venus Raj and Georgina Wilson interchangeably acting as co-hosts and pageant annotators. I must say that there is chemistry among the 4 hosts. Last year, the hosts seemed to be wooden. At least there is life among the 4 hosts this time. Although there were lapses but they were not too glaring enough to cause so much miscue.


The judges of the pageant were introduced and they are as follows:

1. Ashely Perguson, Avon Director for Marketing in Asia
2. Jose Manuel Romualdez- CEO of People Magazine
3. H.E. Ambassador Jorge Domecg – Ambassador of Spain to the Philippines
4. Precious Lara Quigaman – Miss International 2005 and Actress
5. Honorable Cesar V. Purisima – Secretary of Finance
6. John Martin Miller –Nestlé Philippines Inc. Chair and Chief Executive
7. Casimiro Yniguez Ynares – Governor of Rizal
8. Rissa Hontiveros-Baraquel – Congresswoman
9. Oliver Gougeon – Chief Executive Officer, Singapore and South Asia, Société Générale
10. Richard Gomez – Actor
11. H.E. Harry K. Thomas Jr. – Ambassador of the United States of America to the Philippines
12. Phil Younghusband – Azkals football Player – Chairman of the Board of Judges

The pageant proceeded with the girls in their 2-piece swimsuits. During their press presentation and their photo shoots and also during the Parade of Beauties, the girls were in a 1-piece ensemble but now we are now shown how the girls are rated through their body physiques by donning the 2-piece swimsuits. Notable among the girls with good bodies are 7, 8, 9, 19, 26 and 30. Candidate Number 13 and 15 walks unimpressively. Candidate Number 14 has a very shy demeanor. Candidate Number 16 was unfit. I probably understood why she did not throw her body cover. She made it appear that it was part of the choreography. Candidate Number 25 was the most unfit of them all. She should have prepared more for the pageant. The swimsuit number was creating too much excitement as the fans cannot control their excitement with the DJ mixing the music for this portion, Australian DJ David Callum. The swimsuit number was in two sets but they came out individually by 5’s. In the second set, Candidate Number 23 Goldy Baroa almost slipped but gained back composure. She has a good body and poise that I noted.


After the swimsuit round, the Special Awards given were as follows:

Best In Swimsuit: Nicole Schmitz (8)
People’s Choice Award: Giselle Angelica Munoz (21)
Binibining Friendship: Chloe Zanardi (25)
Binibining Talent: Katrina Dimaranan (13)
Manila Bulletin Readers’ Choice Award: Roxanne Tadique (20)
Best in National Costume : Nicole Schmitz (8)


At this juncture, I am given the impression that Nicole Schmitz the conspiracy theorists are saying the truth – that she is the girl that will win a lot of special awards but will go home crying because of birth certificate/passport issues. Hohohum……If to personally pick my choice for the Best in Swimsuit, my choice would be MJ Lastimosa (Candidate 9) for having a whistle bait figure that every lady dreams of. However, Nicole for her bubbly rendition is a good choice too.

Then the evening gown competition followed with Arnel Pineda performing for the first fifteen candidates. Almost all the candidates were wearing gowns of similar cuts and design. It is just that they are different in colors. Candidates who did well in the first 15 candidates were 8, 9 and 15. For the second set of 15 candidates, Candidates 18, 26 and 29 did well in their evening gown repertoire. Bamboo performed during this portion.


As a note, I just felt that the heightened frenzy among the fans cannot be equaled by the performers. Arnel Pineda and Bamboo are great performers but I just can’t feel their performance that night.


And after the evening gown, special awards were given and they are as followed:

Ms. PAL: MJ Lastimosa (9)
Ms. Avon: MJ Lastimosa (9)
Ms. Photogenic: Karen Galman (1)
Best In Evening Gown: Angelee De los Reyes (26)


Oh, oh….I was telling myself, the signs are here. It would be a Mary Jean Lastimosa victory tonight as it she garnered the most prestigious special award. The crown is already hers basing from historical data of previous pageants that whoever gets the Ms. PAL award gets at least a crown. My choice however for the evening gown is Candidate Number 18. I have no quarrel with Angelee as the Best in Gown but I believe, Janine carried her gown with more style and brilliance. Another girl that would probably give Janine the competition for the gown is MJ Lastimosa, Candidate Number 9.


It was now time to announce the Top 12 Candidates and they are as follows:



Sherlyn Gonzales (30) , Leizl Alcantara (16), Patricia Lae Ejercitado (7), Analie Forbes (29), Angeelee Claudette De los Reyes (26), Mary Jena Lastimosa (9), Katirna Janyne Dimaranan (13), Janine Tugonon (18), Elaine Kay Moll (15), Gina Joy Howell (14), Nicole Schmitz (8), Karen Gallman (1)



1.. Sherlyn Gonzales (30)

2. Liezl Alcantara (16)

3. Patricia Lae Ejercitado (7)

4. Annalie Forbes (29)

5. Angelee Claudett delos Reyes (26)

6. Mary Jean Lastimosa (9)

7. Katrina Jayne Dimaranan (13)

8. Janine Mari Tugonon (18)

9. Elaine Kay Moll (15)

10. Gina Joy Howell (14)

11. Nicole Schmitz (8)

12. Karen Gallman (1)

After hearing the list of the semi-finalists, I blurted out, the survey we did hit right to the nail. All the candidates that were possible entries to the semi-finalist circle qualified to the Top 12. It was fairly accurate. The survey predicted a 100% inclusion that is considering the three other candidates that could possibly get in to the Top 12. That is our margin of error. Our Queentessence picks got it 10/12 as well as our contributing writer Arden D. Bautista got it 10/12 also. Those picks are fairly accurate therefore. I can only smile in contention as we took extra effort in writing foreign nationalities to send us their choices.

Now it is the time for the Question and Answer Portion. The candidates were called to answer the Question as they were called by the order of the announcement of semi-finalists. The candidates are to be asked by a question by the judge who was selected through computer generation.

1. Sherlyn Gonzales (30) was asked Precious Lara Quigaman. And the question was “If you were to change an experience in your life, what would it be and why?”

I have to paraphrase the answers as I did not record them and it was impossible to write it as the candidates talked so fast since they have only 30 seconds to answer the question:

Sherlyn answered, she will not change anything since what happened to her in the past is something that had shaped her today and will probably shape her tomorrow and changing that experience will practically deny her the experience and learn the lessons from that experience.

A very good answer and there seem to have shades of the answer of Miss Angola when she won in the Miss Universe Beauty Pageant last year.

2. Leizl Alcantara(16) was asked by Oliver Gougen. The question was “How do you define happiness?”

This was not shown on TV. Initially Leizl did not answer the question correctly because the word happiness was mispronounced by the judge. She did not understand it well. So they repeated the Question and Answer portion and Leizl answered the question. When I watched the proceedings on TV this was not aired already as the edited segment was the one aired.

Leizl equated happiness to success and she blabbered a lot that pointed out just the same to being successful is to be happy.

3. Patricia Lae Ejercitado (7) was asked by Gov. Casimiro Yniguez Ynares III and the question was “What was the biggest obstacle that you had in your life and how you were able to go about it?”

Patricia answered that there was one time in her life that she questioned the existence of God. But because of her search for the meaning of her existence, she found the meaning of God in her heart. She realized that her doubts were God’s challenge to her and by being so steadfast in her faith, she was able to conquer all.

4. Annalie Forbes (29) was asked by H.E. Jorge Domecq and the question runs this way” “Social media has forever changed the world. What has it done to you and what do you think are its advantages in the changing world?”

Annalie was dumbfounded during this portion. She was probably stunned by the difficulty of the question. She cannot answer. However she was given a chance again so they asked her to answer the question the second time around. Apparently this was not shown on telecast. This portion was edited. You could just feel how the audience was reacting to this.

Annalie answered in a way that social media was able to encompass communication. And communication is a way to share life. And sharing like what Mother Teresa did like small things can become great things when it is shared.
Whew….what an answer….How did Mother Teresa get into the picture? Is the Carla Balingit charm present again here?

5. Angelee delos Reyes (26) was asked by H.E. Harry K. Thomas Jr. and the question was “How will you show to the rest of the world that it is more fun in the Philippines?”

Angelee was very loquacious even before the question was made. To the point that the Ambassador said that he may not ask a question anymore. When she answered the question, she said a mouthful about the country and the beautiful spots that we had most especially Zambales and the affirmation of that fun is the loving and beautiful people exemplified by her. Angelee really gave a very great answer and she was very conversant and very confident.

6. Mary Jean Lastimosa was asked by Ashley Ferguson and the question runs this way:” What to you is the most pressing problem that the world is facing now and how do you propose to solve it?”

MJ’s answer was about curiosity and that having too much curiosity gives too much problems and that we need to do peripheral listing so that we can curb the problem of curiosity.

I am really at a loss about MJ’s answer. If she is referring to curiosity among the youth and trying on sex and because of that there would more population. And this is peripheral listing? Channel endeavors to productive means instead of being curious? Hohohum….

7. Katrina Dimaranan (13) was asked by Richard Gomez the question: “If you were to be President of the Philippines in one day, what particular problem are you going to tackle?”

Katrina answered that she would promote education because there are a lot of children who lack education and that in education children will learn good morals, values and optimism.

8. Janine Tugonon (18) was asked by Mr. Jose Manuel Romualdez the question: “Many women nowadays will go a happy family life or a successful career. How do you feel about this?

She answered: I believe that women have the right to choose between what they want. But for me, you have to go for what God has called you to do, whatever it is, between the two. You must do what's your purpose in this world. Just have a childlike faith and matured obedience then everything will go smooth. Thank you.

9. Elaine Kay Moll (15) was asked by Finance Secretary Cesar V. Purisima the question: “If there is one thing you want to change in the Filipino culture, what would it be?”

Elaine hesitated a bit then recovered. She answered, she would like to correct the Filipino time and habit. Time is important and we must need to cooperate to do a lot more things to develop as a people. However she delivered it in a choking manner and she was not confident with her answers.

10. Gina Joy Howell (14) was asked by Rissa Hontiveros. Before she asked the question, she reassuringly said that the candidate can answer in the language she is comfortable with. The question is something like, if you are to choose between love and career what would it be?

Gina Joy seemed to be unnerved with the choice of speaking in the dialect or in English because this girl speaks English pretty well. When she started answering she was already tentative in her answer but she choose her career because according to her, if the man loves me, she will love all of me including her career.

11. Nicole Schmitz (8) was asked by John Miller the question: “How would you rather be, respected or loved?”

Nicole answered she would rather be respected because it connoted dignity and integrity. And when you have dignity and integrity you will be loved.

12. Karen Gallman was asked by Phil Younghusband the question, “how will you define defeat and victory?” Karen choked on her answer. She said it is not how you lost but it is how you fought to win. She said learn from your mistakes and God will help you.

If I have to base my selection on what happened live or even the edited telecast, I would choose the following candidates:

1. Schmitz (8)
2. Tugonon (18)
3. Ejercitado (7)

4. Delos Reyes (26)
5. Gonzales (30)

These 5 candidates had sufficiently answered the questions that were asked of them. But the winners were as follows:

1. Janine Tugonon - MUP
2. Nicole Schmitz -MIP
3. Katrina Jayne Dimaranan-MTP
4. Elaine Kay Moll – First Runner-up
5. Analie Forbes – Second Runner-up



I understand the placement of Tugonon vis-à-vis Schmitz. Schmitz may have topped the deliberations but her type of beauty is more a hit in the Miss International Beauty Pageant. Tugonon will go to the Miss Universe Beauty Pageant and will need to train more for that matter. I do not really know how Dimaranan eclipsed the other girls. I don’t understand the hype with her. Even the judges saw something in her. Moll is acceptable but Forbes really splattered everything during the Q and A. She was even surprised she was called second-runner up. It is the same thing with Moll. It really remained a mystery to me how they select the final winners in the Binibini.

Well another selection process is over. We have our new queens. What else can we do but to support them in their international endeavors since they represent our country and in so doing they are representing us – the Filipino people.

A supporting article from our contributor will come out next why he thinks the other candidates I enumerated above did not enter the magic circle.

Photo Credits: Paul Cortes, BPCI, Pawee (Misso), OPMB,UNO, PEP