Miss Supranational 2013

Philippines
is 1^st Asian to wear coveted crown

By
Earl D. C. Bracamonte

Miss
Supranational Philippines 2013 Mutya Johanna Datul flew back to Manila earlier
this week after a victorious romp in the post-Soviet republic of Belarus. The
21-year-old, 5’8” stunner from Sta. Maria, Isabela was crowned the fifth Miss
Supranational at the close of glitzy rites in Minsk City’s Sports Palace. She’ll
go down pageant history as the first Asian to bag the prestigious title. Besting 82 other hopefuls, Mutya
was also named Miss Personality.

“Until
now, I can’t believe I won – that I’m the first Filipina to bring home the
crown. I apologize for my delayed arrival. It was my first time to travel
overseas so I missed a lot of connecting flights coming home,” shared the
misty-eyed Isabelan at the late night homecoming party inside the Gloria Maris
Banquet Hall in Gateway Mall. The press event was originally scheduled at 5:30
pm.

“It’s
all about hard work, perseverance, and belief in yourself that you can do it.
Winning was constantly in my thoughts so I guess it manifested itself on the
outside. And I never got tired of praying; it was the key to my victory. I’m
really grateful to my BPCI family, especially to Madame Stella Marquez de
Araneta, to Miss Conchitina Sevilla-Bernardo and Miss Betsy Westendorp.”

The
members of Mutya’s court are Mexico (Jacqueline Morales), Turkey (Leyla Kose),
Indonesia (Cokorda Istri Krisnanda Widani) and US Virgin Islands (Esonica Veira),
in descending order. Other semi-finalists who were accorded recognition were
Gabon (Hillary Ondo, Miss Supranational Africa), host country Belarus (Veronica
Chachyna, Miss Supranational Europe), Brazil (Raquel Benetti, Miss Continental
America), and Australia (Esma Voloder, Miss Supranational Asia & Oceania).

“I
did my very best. I actually had a foreboding I’d return to Manila wearing the
crown. It was a flash, a fleeting image I saw when I deplaned in Minsk. I will
be back in Belarus next month to join past winners and go to Panama for some
outreach projects. I guess I’d better get ready for a winter climate,” intoned
the recipient of a US$25K prize money. She said she’ll use a portion for the medication
of her mother, another part for the schooling of her siblings, and the rest she’ll
be saving for her future.

Rounding
up the Top 20 were Misses Myanmar (Khin Wint Wah), Puerto Rico (Desiree del
Rio), Venezuela (Annie Fuenmayor), Angelika Ogryzek), Thailand (Thanyaporn
Srisen), Luxembourg (Heloise Paulmier), India (Vijaya Sharma), Russia (Yana
Dubnik), Latvia (Diana Kubasova), Ukraine (Kateryna Sandulova), and Canada
(half-Filipino Suzette Hernandez). The other candidate in the batch with
Filipino lineage was Miss Norway, Marie Molo. “I got close with the other
half-Pinays in the pageant!

“This
is my ultimate dream and I want it more than the other girls. I want to become
an ambassadress and be an inspiration to different peoples,” was the short spiel
she told the judges during the closed-door interview sessions. She related that
most of the other girls had lengthy discourses and sounded like newscasters.

As
a first-timer abroad, Mutya explored a number of landmarks with her
co-candidates during her three-week stint in Minsk. Among the places that she
visited were the National Library of Belarus, the Krynica Factory, the Nesvizh
and Mirsky Castles, the Bialowieza Forest, the Brest Fortress, and the St.
Sophia Cathedral.

“Masaya kaming lahat! Nagpapasalamat po kami
sa BPCI at sa lahat ng sumusuporta sa anak ko,” said Mutya’s father, Wilfredo
Datul Sr., who was present with the rest of the family.

Mutya
was crowned by outgoing queen Katsiaryna Buraya of Belarus. The past
Supranational winners were Monika Lewczuk (Poland, 2011), Karina Pinilla Corro
(Panama, 2010) and pioneer Oksanna Moria (Ukraine, 2009). Mutya’s victory is an
impressive feat as it opens the gates of opportunity easier for the other Bb.
Pilipinas queens when they compete in their respective international pageants.
Cindy Miranda for the International Queen of Tourism in Beijing, China, Ariella
Arrida for the Miss Universe in Moscow, Russia; and Bea Rose Santiago for the
Miss International in Tokyo, Japan.    

For
more detailed information, simply log-on to the pageant Web site, www.misssupranational.com.

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Mutya ng Pilipinas 2013 winners

Resplendent in red

By Nico Erle Ciriaco

21-year-old looker Koreen Medina bested 30 other
aspirants and emerging as the 45th Filipina to win the Mutya ng Pilipinas
crown. The St. Paul University (QC) coed is one of two candidates who qualified
to represent the National Capital Region and Metro Manila. “I love to sing,”
gushed the Quezon City rep, when asked what she wants to do after winning. She
then regaled media-men with stanzas from Destiny’s Child’s “Stand Up For Love.”

An early favorite, Koreen also bagged the ? award.
Aside from the beautifully crafted trophy, she took home a prize package of P1million
in cash and products; and the honor to represent the country in the forthcoming
Miss Inter-Continental search in Cairo, Egypt.

Cebu City’s bet Angeli Dione Gomez won as Mutya ng
Pilipinas Tourism Int’l. The 20-year-old lass from the Queen City of the South
also won the same title won by another Cebuana, Rizzini Alexis Gomez, who
ultimately won the Miss Tourism International last December 2012. Dione is
optimistic she can duplicate Rizzini’s victory, being a Gomez herself! She’ll
fly to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia towards the end of the year to compete.

The members of Mutya royal court are 1^st
runner-up Kristian Aubrey Nolasco (Caloocan City), the other NCR delegate; and
2^nd runner-up Maureen Anne Montagne (from the overseas Filipino
community in Arizona, USA). Asdis Liza Karldottir, the delegate from Iceland,
was proclaimed Mutya ng Overseas Filipino Communities.  

The competition opened with dancers from PowerDance
and the Mabalacat City Center for the Arts donning Elvis Presley inspired-costumes,
signifying the era when the Mutya pageant was born in the late 60s, as the
contestants introduced themselves in bright-colored and stylized creations from
31 Filipino fashion designers. Koreen’s metallic 60s inspired mini-dress won
for designer June Lee the Best in Fashion Design award earlier in the evening.

The pre-taped segment of the swimsuit competition
held at the Sheridan Spa Resort in Puerto Princesa, Palawan served as the
backdrop in the swimwear parade. In identical black-and-white bikinis by Renee
Salud, the girls gamely posed and strutted against the beauty and splendor of Palawan’s
environmental treasure – the Underground River. Laguna’s muse Vina Openiano was
declared Best in Swimsuit while Cabuyao City’s entrant Hazel Corral was
adjudged Best in Evening Gown.

The Mutya ng Pilipinas organization promotes ‘beauty
tourism’ within the greater Asia Pacific with the direct participation of the
overseas Filipino communities; this being a distinct component of the national
pageant for years now. The organization is motivated and inspired by its
guiding thrust to assist in promoting tourism, social responsibility, fashion,
and beauty pageantry.

The members of the panel of judges included Sen.
Chiz Escudero, singer-actress Heart Evangelista, fashion designer Christian Espiritu,
and Ting-ting Cojuangco as chairperson.

Koreen was crowned by reigning Mutya ng Pilipinas
Int’l Camille Guevarra and Sen. Grace Poe Llamanzares at the culmination of the
pageant’s rites. Hosted by Chris Tiu, with three past Mutya queens as
anchorwomen: Kirby Basken, Kristine Zaballero and Patricia Fernandez, the
4-hour-long extravaganza was beamed from the NBC Tent at the Bonifacio Global
City, on Sunday, July 28^th, to a nationwide audience via GMA’s
Rainbow network.

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