Bringing back Mutya's glory days

CEBU, Philippines - When an invite for a press con with the Mutya ng Pilipinas 2011 winner came a few weeks back, we had to ask what our interviewee’s name was, and even the event’s Cebu coordinator had to grope to recall which lady was crowned with the major title last December. This is in no offense to the beauty queen or the coordinator, but in fact a glaring indication of how the country’s longest-running beauty pageant has truly lost much of its fame and luster for the past years.

If Gwendoline Ruais and Athena Imperial are more or less household names now after bagging their respective Miss World-Philippines and Miss Earth-Philippines 2011 titles, we bet not too many can identify in a heartbeat who last year’s Mutya ng Pilipinas-International was. Pageant watchers cite that the waning interest and exposure began after the cancellation of the Miss Asia-Pacific Quest, where Mutya winners used to compete. Still, Mutya has been held year after year, albeit with little fanfare --- and this is precisely what the organization’s new handlers hope to change.

First mounted 44 years ago according to its current pageant director Jefferson Tan, the pioneering search is now managed by a new group, specifically a business-oriented family with Cebuano-Ilonggo roots.

In 2010, Mutya’s swimsuit competition was held at the Sheridan Beach Resort and Spa, located in Sabang, Puerto Princesa, Palawan and owned by Jefferson’s family. The Mutya organization was offered to their family, since its original board members were retiring. The Tans took the proposal as an opportunity to promote their brand-new resort, which is only a convenient twenty-minute boat ride to the Subterranean Underground River, now considered a National World Heritage site.

Today, the pageant is run by an Executive Committee and Mutya’s first lady president Jacqueline Tan (Jefferson’s sister). The committee is supported by its incumbent Board of Directors namely, Chairman Joseph T. Tan, Executive Committee Chairman Roberto de Venecia (the only remaining original member of the board of directors), Treasurer Michael Tan, Ranie Hofileña and Jefferson.

"The original Mutya producers were not okay, and they kind of mismanaged the pageant," said the 22-year-old Jefferson during a press con at the Cebu Parklane International Hotel, with Mutya ng Pilipinas-International 2011 Vickie Marie Milagrosa Rushton and Mutya ng Pilipinas-Tourism International 2008 Jam Charish Libatog in attendance.

The young Cebuano-Ilonggo pageant director is a graduating student at the Centre for International Education taking up Strategic Marketing. He believes his Marketing background will be an advantage in their efforts to revitalize Mutya. Among their immediate plans is to provide more media mileage for their current batch of winners, so that the public will have better recall of their names and faces.

They also hope to impose more concrete and strict rules for the next batch of title-holders. This suggestion from the media stemmed from Mutya’s recent practice of reshuffling which of their winners will compete in a certain international tilt, like what happened last year.

Rushton was supposed to vie for the Miss Tourism International 2011 honor last December 31st, but skipped the opportunity to make up for missed exams and classes in her Bacolod university. Her first runner-up, Diana Rademann of Puerto Princesa, took her place instead. Lapu-Lapu City’s Sharon Grace Angel, as Mutya ng Pilipinas 2010 2nd runner-up was set to compete for the Top Model of the World contest in Europe, but also backed out and cited her studies as her reason for not pushing through.

Pageant watchers believe that such reshufflings or cancellations "weaken the Mutya brand." For instance, everyone expects and anticipates the Bb. Pilipinas-Universe winner to compete in that year’s Miss Universe. If Mutya winners do not show up in the pageant that is required of their title and can easily back out without contract sanctions, it does not help in raising Mutya’s prestige and public interest.

Meanwhile, one of the new organizer’s first moves is to establish satellite offices in Cebu City and Puerto Princesa, aside from its main offices in Quezon City. Also of note is Mutya’s new official theme song, an upbeat and catchy piece composed and performed by Vince Bueno.

Jefferson further revealed that they had earlier sent a proposal to hold this year’s Mutya in Cebu, but that Cebu Governor Gwen Garcia was not very keen in a pageant with a swimsuit segment, which is why they opted to hold the 2012 coronation night this July in Iloilo City. It will be Iloilo’s first time to host a national beauty competition, with the organizers noting the city an "ideal place with its natural and aesthetic beauty, tasty but cheap food, friendly people and cooperative city government officials."

Mutya will be giving out more prizes this year to the following four winners: Mutya ng Pilipinas-International, Mutya ng Pilipinas-Tourism International, Mutya ng Pilipinas-Asia Pacific International and Mutya ng Pilipinas-Top Model of the World.

Interested applicants in our region may visit Mutya’s Cebu office at the 2nd floor of Sheridan Building, Ouano Avenue North Reclamation Area in Mandaue City, with telephone number 412-9150. The Cebu screening, scheduled this April, is open to single, beautiful, intelligent, talented and articulate Filipino women. An applicant must be a high school graduate, at least 18 but not more than 24 years of age, with a minimum height of 5’5."

Mutya prides itself for having yielded four Miss Asia Pacific Queens: Carines Zaragoza (1982), Bong Dimayacyac (1983), Lorna Legaspi (1989), and Michelle Aldana (1993); and two Miss World Finalist and Continental Queens for Asia courtesy of Sarah Jane Arreza (1982) and Sherry Rose Byrne (1986). It has also produced a line-up of beauties who entered showbiz such as Baby Delgado, the late Rio Diaz, Bong Dimayacyac, Mutya Laxa, Azenith Briones, Marilou Bendigo, Aurora Sevilla, Tetchie Agbayani, Daisy Reyes, Michelle Aldana, Maricel Morales, to name a few.

For further inquiries, check out their website at www.mutyangpilipinas.com or email them at [email protected]. (FREEMAN)