Miss Universe 2015 Front-runner

Pia was not a standout in every round but she made it a point to make every cut and did her final blow in the Top 5 and then Top 3 Q&A.

The ballgame has always been like that in the Miss U pageant. The front-runner not being able to sustain the fight when the dimension of the competition changes from beauty (form) to wits (being).

Take the case of Caroline Izsak of Venezuela who was a complete standout in Miss Universe 1992 but was given a mediocre interview score in the Top 6 making her not to advance to final 3.

The pageant was won by Namibia's Michelle McLean. Now it should be noted that McLean was just a semifinalist in the Miss World 1991 pageant which Ninibeth Leal of Venezuela won. Leal on the other hand was Izsak's runner up in the Miss Venezuela national pageant. Of all those instances that Venezuela failed to win the crown despite a very strong performance, it was with Izsak's that they feel they were robbed of the crown

And who could forget Mika Chulina of Venezuela taken over by Dayanara Torres of Puerto Rico in Miss Universe 1993? Minorca Mercado again of Venezuela versus Sushmita Sen of India in Miss Universe 1994 in the Phil. Our very own Miriam Quiambao versus Mpule Kwelagobe of Bootswana in 1999.

Pia's failure in Binibining Pilipinas 2013 and 2014 helped her get into this mindset that every round counts. She aced all the segments during the Miss Universe 2015 finals without any reservation.

Just like Perez Hilton said, Colombia came to lose, while Philippines came to win.

2015 Beauty Pageant Season Begins

Whilst Philippines was once a beauty pageant powerhouse back in the 70's, it was hardly noticed in comparison to other powerhouse countries like USA, Venezuela, Puerto Rico and India in the early 21st century. But right after Venus Raj's breakthrough comeback in the 2010 Miss Universe in Las Vegas, the way was paved for the Philippines to be once again noticed as a force to reckon with in any international pageant - big or small.

This year's international pageant season begins with Binibining Pilipinas Charities Inc (BPCI) acquisition of national franchise of Miss Globe and Miss Grand International. Miss Globe, an Albanian based pageant which has been existing since 1973 while Miss Grand International, a Bangkok, Thailand based pageant is on its third year.

Below are some of the international pageants that Philippines is sending its contestants and tentative dates of the pageant.

Representative: Ann Lorraine Colis
Pageant:  Miss Globe 2015
Date: October 8, 2015
Venue: Rose Theatre, Toronto, Canada

Ann won the Binibining Pilipinas - Tourism title on March 15, 2015 but was handpicked to represent the country when BPCI subsequently acquired the franchise for Miss Globe.

Representative: Parul Shah
Pageant:  Miss Grand International 2015
Date: October 26, 2015
Venue: Indoor Stadium, Huamark, Bangkok, Thailand
Philippines' Best Performance: 3rd Runner Up (Analie Forbes, 2013)

Parul was Bb. Pilipinas Tourism 2014 but was not able to compete in the Miss Tourism International as the pageant was not held last year. She was handpicked to represent the country when BPCI subsequently acquired the franchise for Miss Grand International.

Representative: Toni Alyessa Hipolito
Pageant: Miss Globe International  2015
Date: TBA
Venue: Brussels, Belgium
Philippines' Best Performance: Winner (Maricar Balagtas, 2001)

Toni joined Binibining Pilipinas twice: 10 semi-finalist in 2010 and in 2015 which she didn't place. A month after, she was chosen to wear the sash for the Philippines in this year's edition of Miss Globe pageant.

Representative: Janicel Lubina
Pageant: Miss International 2015
Date: November 5, 2015
Venue: Shinigawa Prince Hotel, Tokyo, Japan
Philippines' Best Performance: Winner (1964, 1970, 1979, 2005, 2013)

Prior to joining Bb Pilipinas 2015, Janicel joined Miss World Philippines 2013 and placed as 1st Runner Up to the eventual Miss World 2013 winner Megan Lynn Young.

Representative: Rogelie Catacutan
Pageant: Miss Supranational 2015
Date: December 5, 2015
Venue: Sports Hall Krynica-Zdroj, Poland
Philippines' Best Performance: Winner (Mutya Johanna Datul, 2013)

Prior to being crowned Bb. Pilipinas Supranational 2015, Rogelie was Miss Cebu 2010  3rd Runner-Up, Reyna ng Aliwan 2011 winner, and one of the 12 semi-finalists in the Miss World Philippines 2011 pageant.

Representative: Angelia Gabrena Ong
Pageant: Miss Earth 2015
Date: December 5, 2015
Venue: Marx Halle Vienna, Austria
Philippines' Best Performance: Winner (2008, 2014)

Angelia has big shoes to fill as Jamie Herell, the reigning Miss Earth is also from the Philippines. Also, it's the second time the pageant will be held outside of the Philippines taking her away the home-crowd advantage.

Representative: Christy Lynn Mcgarry
Pageant: Miss Intercontinental 2015
Date: December 18, 2015
Venue: Grand Ballroom, Maritim Congress Hotel, Magdelburg, Germany
Philippines' Best Performance: 2nd Runner-up (Kris Tiffany Janson, 2014)

Win or lose, Christy Lynn will surely make a record in the pageant for being the only contestant to have joined the pageant twice. In 2010, she replaced Muya ng Pilipinas Intercontinental 2010 Karla Jenina Lizardo Jenina Lizardo and eventually placed in the Top 15 and was named Continental Queen of Asia and the Pacific.

Representative: TBD
Pageant: Miss World 2015
Date: December 19, 2015
Venue: Crowne of Beauty Theater, Sanya, China
Philippines' Best Performance: Winner (Megan Young, 2013)

Valerie is yet to relinquish her crown to the next representative. As of writing, the preliminary activities for Miss World Philippines are ongoing with October 18, 2015 as the coronation night.

Representative: Janela Joy Cuaton
Pageant: Miss Tourisn International 2015
Date: December 31, 2015
Venue: Ha Long Bay, Vietnam
Philippines' Best Performance: Back-to-back win (2012 and 2013)

Janela will continue Philiippines' 3 year Top 5 placement streak (two titles and a runner up) in this year's pageant to be held in Vietnam instead of the usual Kuala Lumpur.

Representative: Pia Wurtzbach
Pageant: Miss Universe 2015
Date: TBA
Venue: Las Vegas, USA
Philippines' Best Performance: Winner (1969, 1973)

With the new MUO ownership and management, Pia will try to get hold of the elusive third Miss Universe crown for the Philippines.



The past three years, Philippine representatives have been winning crowns for the country. Hopefully, one of the crowns at stake for the above-mentioned pageants could be brought back home by these ladies. Good luck and more power to the Filipina beauty!

Binibining Pilipinas 2015 Frontrunners - Pia Wurtzbach

One thing that made Miss Universe Philippines Mary Jean "MJ" Lastimosa to stand out in the Bb. Pilipinas 2014 pageant was her maturity being a three-peater of the pageant. This is also the same strength that Pia Wurtzbach is enjoying in this year's pageant.




Fast Facts:



Full Name: Pia Alonso Wurtzbach
Hometown: Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental Philippines
Height: 1.73 meters (5 ft 8 in)
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Brown







Below are some points that puts Pia on the front row.


Showbiz Industry Background. Just like Megan Young, her exposure to limelight is an edge she gets to enjoy comes pageant night. When put under pressure, a showbiz insider like her can still maintain poise and grace without exerting an effort. She just needs to avoid staying on the safe side though, like what happened when she was asked by Senator Sonny Angara in Filipino during the Binibining Pilipinas 2014 pageant.

Being a Three-peater. Her third attempt is reminiscent of MJ Lastimosa's comeback in the Bb. Pilipinas 2014. They were both runners-up on their first attempt. Both failed to snag a major placement on their second. Subconsciously, their failure on their second attempt put them in a very good position in terms of awareness and strategizing.

In 2012, MJ Lastimosa was under the pressure to outwit Janine Tugunon, knowing that Janine's selling point was her eloquence and poetic approach in answering questions. Reason why MJ was prompted to use big words like "pheriperals" which apparently she wasn't able to substantiate.

Pia did the same thing in 2014. Being a repeater, she was under the pressure of taking her being articulate up a notch. It's a pity though that she succumbed to the displaced nationalism of Senator Sonny Angara asking her a question in Filipino when apparently, a big percentage of the judging panel was made up of foreign dignitaries.

Communication Skills. With or without talent-camp-prep on how to answer questions, Pia has achieved a certain level of wit that would leave her not buckling even when asked the most complex of questions. She reminds me of Janine Tugunon who consistently adhered to the global-standard in answering beauty-pageant-questions; 3 to 5 sentences.

Having said all that, I personally find her a good cut out for the Miss International title as opposed to being a Miss Universe. Hopefully she gets to replicate the same comeback as MJ did last year.