Questions

If I were to make a news story on the Miss Cebu 2007 brouhaha, I would be using, in journalism-speak, the 5Ws and 1H lead. This is the most appropriate one, knowing that even if the coronation is over, questions are still dancing in my mind as to why the Miss Cebu Commission was silent about a certain issue and attempted to skirt it by wanting to talk about Miss Universe 2005 Natalie Glebova's appearance during pageant night. Of course, it was an honor to have Miss Glebova chair the distinguished panel of judges, but I still firmly believe that the issue on Ford Supermodel finalist Nikki Taylor's withdrawal from the contest should have also been addressed accordingly. As in the famous line of PR maverick Jonji Gonzales, "the best defense is truth," this should have been the position of the Commission, instead of leaving the press in the dark as to the real story.

Let me clarify though that I have nothing against the new Miss Cebu, Loise Angelique Tan. In fact, I love her very much for giving the answer "religious" when asked, "What word best describes the City of Cebu?" - and more so, when she elaborated, "We're celebrating Sinulog to show how religious Cebuanos are. People from all walks of life pay tribute to the Sto. Niño. And I am proud to say that, hey! I am a Cebuana." The first to answer among the five finalists, I felt deep in my heart, even without hearing the other four, that the crown was already hers. And when she did win, she told the press, "I did not expect this because I was not that confident at the beginning of the show. All of a sudden I am here wearing the crown. The Sto. Niño came to mind because I am very religious person and I think He is the reason why I am here." It was a sincere statement that left me smiling because, once again, wit became a very winning factor in the most prestigious beauty pageant in the Queen City of the South. Loise's membership in my favorite Queen City Toastmasters Club has proved to be of help and that her crash training, along with Fern Medequillo, with Bb. Pilipinas-World Anna Maris Igpit days before the pageant, must have also upped her confidence that night.

But, back to my proposed 5Ws and 1H lead. It would go this way: In an unexpected turn of events, Nikki Taylor, one of the strongest bets in this year's Miss Cebu pageant backed out from the race by simply not showing up at the fashion show-cum-formal presentation of official candidates held at the Fuente Osmeña oval Monday night. As you can see details are provided for the Who, What, Where, When, and How, but for the most important of them all-the WHY-is missing? Miss Cebu pageant is very prestigious, even used as jumping board by previous winners for bigger pageants like Melanie Ediza, who became Bb. Pilipinas 2005 2nd runner-up, and Karla Bautista, who was named Bb. Pilipinas World in 2004 and Queen of Asia Oceania in the Miss World pageant in Sanya, China. In other words, it's not some so-so beauty search, but rather, a well-organized and carefully planned event run by various working committees. But despite the existence of such committees, none has managed to release an official statement regarding why Nikki suddenly withdrew, and this has disappointed me so much.

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Marigold Lebumfacil, Miss Cebu Finalist 2006, and writer of Hugyaw, the entertainment section of Banat News (Freeman's sister tabloid), kept track of this story for three days, calling up fashion czar Philip Rodriguez twice for comment. What she got was the question why were we pursuing this story when there's no issue at all? (Sir Philip is the chair of the Committee on Production and vice-chair of the Committee on Search and Screening). During the fashion show at Fuente, he gave a one-liner to queries on where Nikki was: Nikki would be ready for next year. On Wednesday, I eagerly awaited the newscast of TV Patrol Central Visayas because I was told that Sir Philip would give an official statement about it. But he just asked not to talk about it, but on Glebova instead. It was a very short answer that an officemate lamented, "Mao ra to?"

There was so much talk about it because before Nikki "backed out," I got wind of reports that she was nicely and casually "confronted" by Ediza, Bautista and Miss Cebu 2006 Stephanie Señires about rumors she is "underage." It was reportedly during the confrontation (Saturday night, January 13 after a fashion show at the Malacañang sa Sugbu) that Nikki reportedly admitted she was only 17 (18 is the required age) and was allegedly forced by "some" to change her birth certificate. (I was also told that it became a joke among this year's candidates to bring their birth certificates the next day to prove the validity of their age.) I tried to get Nikki's side thrice through her agent Marlon Wafer but they weren't ready to issue a statement. I didn't force them because it's their prerogative. After all, my stand up to now is that the official statement should come from the Commission especially if it's something to do with age qualification. Naturally, questions have now been thrown around: How was the screening conducted? Why did it crop up only few days before the big night? Is it really true that she's underage? Was an investigation conducted? If so, what was the result?

I agree with Stephanie that since "speculations" surfaced, there should have been an investigation to clear the air. It would be fair to both sides-the Commission and Nikki. But how are we going to know the real story if nobody's willing to talk? Steph said it was really their plan to ask the Commission to probe into the issue because their only concern was to protect the integrity of the crown as well as Nikki's, who, in Steph's words, is " nice and talented." Right. If rumors would turn out untrue, fine, and if true, then appropriate measures could be done to avoid such in the future. Well, the pageant is already over. I just want to say that diverting or shying away from the issue was no good. Until questions are answered and there's transparency, the shadow of doubt continues to taint the credibility of the pageant.

But my concern really is the Cebuanos. Last October, it was announced that large screens were to be placed in strategic locations within the metropolis so that those who couldn't make it to the pageant venue could still watch it. The good mayor of the City of Cebu, Tomas Osmeña, wants Cebuanos to witness how their Miss Cebu is chosen. So, isn't it just fitting that Cebuanos would also know the story behind the withdrawal of a candidate who was introduced to them as a potential bearer of the crown? After all, the winner would not just be Miss Cebu for the selected few, but for all Cebuanos.

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