By Arnulfo Distor
In a world
of uncertainty and near wins, finally a beauty representative of the
Philippines made a remarkable victory and had the crown of Miss Tourism
International 2012 clipped on head at a fabulous ceremony in Petaling Jaya,
Malaysia. Miss Rizzini Alexis Gomez, Mutya ng Pilipinas-Tourism represented the
Philippines in the contest against a bevy of 55 beauties. Rizzini won over Miss
Venezuela Marielis Alejandra Castellanos Perez who was adjudged first
runner-up. Miss Australia Monica Rodulovic was second runner-up; Miss Paraguay
Lourdes Maria Del Carmen Motta Rolon was third runner-up and Miss Malaysia Jun
Wong Wang Jun was adjudged as the 4th runner-up.
The Queentessence’
favorite finally underscored to everyone that she is both glitzy and witty and
romped away with the title of Miss Tourism International 2012 in Malaysia last
December 31, 2012. Why do I say that she is a Queentessence fave? Well let us
see how the Queentessence writers talk about her:
June
1, 2012 Queentessence Staff Evaluation
“QUEENLY DEMEANOR AND POISE: Rizzini Alexis Gomez is
Candidate Number 9 who is simply resplendent. It is such a wonder why this girl
did not qualify in this year’s Binibining Pilipinas. She is MWP’s gain as she
is now an official candidate. Despite Rizzini’s demeanor however, her stylist
should look into the best presentation for her because too heavy make-up ruins
her total look.”
July
1, 2012 Jetset Alejandro in his MWP Pageant Review writes:
“Upon
the announcement of the Top 12 candidates, there was a big hush among pageant
fans as some early favorites did not get into the Top 12. To name a few, they
are Mary Grace Lacap, Maham Ahmed, Fer Mary Baliquig and Rizzini Gomez. These candidates got what it takes to be also
crowned as the Queen of the Night.
The buzz became stronger when it was learned from pageant handlers that there
was no Pre-judging that was done. If the judges evaluated the candidates that
night right there and then, then the Top 12 were chosen on the basis of the
beauty of face, swimsuit scores and evening gown scores. There is no input from
the cerebral department that would separate the beauty with brains.”
On
the same date, Dominador Agbayani writes further:
“The reasons are probably the same with
Candidate No. 9 Rizzini Alexis Gomez. She has the beauty and grace. She was
captivating during the fashion show. With a very beautiful ironed hair during
that event, it was a reaffirmation for us that she is one girl to watch out
for. But alas, she was nowhere in the Top 12. I can’t fathom the reason behind
this as I felt she was a lot better than the other girls that entered the Magic
Circle.”
And finally, Raphael Porciuncula wrote on September 20, 2012:
“Among the notables in this batch of Mutya winners were
Mutya ng Pilipinas Tourism 2012 winner, Rizzini
Alexis Gomez. Rizzini is a candidate to be at the Binibining Pilipinas and
failed to make the cut among the official candidates this year which is a very
big question. Then she screened for the Miss World Philippines in Cebu and she
was the only candidate that showed up during the official screening. She made
it as an official candidate in the Miss World Philippines. I was batting for
her inclusion for the Top 10 but unfortunately she did not advance to the
semifinalist portion. Then I saw this participation. Initially I had negative
feelings about her participation as might get the snub again just like the
previous pageants. But fortunately, the judges saw in her the winning glitters.”
Some pageant fans would
probably say this is just a minor international pageant but whatever it is, it
is still an international pageant participated by a great number of beauty
titlists (in this case, 56 participants) and very competitive at that. Miss
Gomez did a repeat of what Philippine representative Maria Esperanza Manzano in
2000 did. She is the 16th Miss Tourism International winner. The
pageant is Malaysia’s version to the many tourism pageants being held all over
the world with the aim of promoting tourism globally.
