KATRINA JAYNE DIMARANAN: AGAINST ALL ODDS

by Dominador Agbayani



Beset by problems confronting her family in the United States, Katrina has attended 13 schools before finishing her high school education. She was confronted also with adjusting to every school and every environment that she transferred to. In most cases, children who are put into this kind of situation develop reclusive attitudes. But not with Katrina, she has learned to become independent and be self-determined. It is in these qualities that develoved her into a much stronger individual.

Katrina is born to both Filipino parents Leonita Rivera and Ramon Dimaranan from San Juan, Metro Manila. They migrated to the United States when she was still a kid and had experienced the difficult side of life in the Bay Area in California when her parents separated. The family was homeless for a while even to the point that they have to make use of a terminal bathroom as their sleeping quarters with her siblings. These challenging experiences did not tear down Katrina but made her much stronger and she developed an attitude that all those worrying things will come to pass and there is another side to life - the brighter side.

It is not surprising to hear Katrina answer the question given to her in the final selection of the winners. She said, she will education the prime importance if she will be given a chance to become a president even in just a day. Katrina experienced the need of a better education as seen from her constant changing and transfers of school. Everyone should be schooled at least. And at 18 she was able to do that despite mounting odds. And so in the near future, she hopes to finish a degree course in Psychology not just to equip her with wisdom and education but to relate with people from all walks of life and share with them her life experiences.

This dusky beauty that towers 5'9" with body measurements of 34-24-35 won Miss Talent during the competition activities. She was described as the girl with a Rhythm and Blues (R and B) voice. As we all know, this music genre was popularized by African-Americans and the audience who heard her remarked that she is a Filipina with a "black" voice. She gave out a very professional performance and the pageant fans were easily attracted and convinced that she is one of the candidates to watch out for. One pageant fan underscored it most: "I do not know what is in her but every time I see her, there seem to be a force that gets me attracted to her." Well simply put, Katrina is the girl that possesses the proverbial X-factor and she has evidences to boot. She is the recent winner of Miss Philippines-USA and she is full of singing talent.

This looker has definitely improved from the time she was seen during the screening period up until she was chosen and crowned Binibining Pilipinas Tourism 2012. Under Jonas Gaffud's Aces and Queens mentorship, she has bloomed into a competitive young lady. She has a gift of gab, great personality and immense confidence - the three traits that made her what she is now - the new Binibining Pilipinas Tourism 2012. Katrina;s maturity and sophistication even at the age of 18 will probably get us a new crown from the Miss Tourism Queen International Competition to be held in China sometime this year. Kudos and we wish her the best of luck.

"Despite all odds, things will turn out right." - Katrina Jayne Dimaranan

Photo Credits: www.facebook/katrinadimaranan, Paul Cortes, Missosology,info

ANOTHER LOOK AT THE PLANET WE LIVE IN

By Alejandro Bustillos

I call the month of April the Earth month because on April 22nd marks the anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970. That was 42 years ago but saving the planet was never the cause for agitation among the young population. Almost all sectors of world life are on rampage on destroying the environment. There was a prelude to this movement. The movie Silent Spring which was shown in 1962 and that the main thesis of the writer was that the total control of nature was conceived in arrogance. There was an increased public awareness of what would happen to the environment and public health with pollution and destruction. In 1973, another film came out and entitled Soylent Green. It is an American science fiction film which depicts the investigation into the murders of a wealthy businessman in a dystopian future suffering from pollution, overpopulation, depleted resources, poverty, dying oceans and a hot climate due to the greenhouse effect. The population survived on processed food rations including “soylent green.” More than 4 decades after, these films seemed to be prophetic as we travelled to the new century. Problems as perceived before are now the problems that are faced by the population in this present times. It is such mind-boggling to ask why man did not listen to himself when he himself prophesied that these things will happen today.

Every year thereafter, people on all walks of life go out on the streets and rally behind the preservation and conservation of mother earth. Countries come together and sign accords to decrease emissions of pollutants in the air. Countries zero-in on projects that would result to a sustainable effect on the preservation of Mother Nature. The alarm has been sounded and countries from different parts of the globe , be it a powerful and big country, be it a poor or third world country, have started to work on strategies to stave off the effect of global warming. Island countries most specially the small ones at risk of getting erased in the map of the world as the water level rise up. No one is safe. Everyone is at risk.

Even pageants have stressed the need to protect the earth. There is a Miss Earth Beauty Pageant that is geared towards creating more consciousness amongst the people in terms of environmental protection and preservation. In the Philippines alone, pageants sprouted with the title “Binibining Kalikasan” (Miss Nature) in their aim to create more awareness about the environment. Even other pageants have activities that are geared to protecting the environment. The Miss Tourism pageants are geared to promoting beautiful sites in the places where it is held especially China but in so doing, they highlight that the beauty of these places cannot be fully appreciated without protecting and preserving the beauty of nature and even the history that goes with the place.


The saga for the protection of our environment continues and it is a phenomenon that needed urgent response as every day we get to experience the effects of the destructive climate change. We would like you to share with us your experiences regarding climate change and how you responded to such. Let us help one another to build a better future for our children.