Formal plaint filed over Miss Cebu controversy

Cebu - The mother of Miss Cebu 2009 2nd Runner Up yesterday filed a formal complaint on alleged irregularities during the staging of the pageant.

For what seemed like a simple “honest mistake” over the announcement of Miss Cebu 2009 winner Kris Tiffany Janson as Globe Texter’s Choice Awardee instead of her daughter, Kimberley Therese Burden, Rowena Burden is now looking into the alleged occurring irregularities in the competition.

“My letter is stating the irregularities which were happening from the start so that the fact finding committee will be aware of the following issues,” Rowena said.

The issues include irregularities from the screening process, choice of judges and also submission of credentials.

The letter was received by to Cebu City acting vice mayor Hilario Davide III who immediately turned it over to the Cebu City Tourism Office that forwarded it to the fact-finding group lead by councilor Gerardo Carillo.

In her letter, Burden alleged that Jansen did not undergo initial and final screening that her daughter and the other candidates underwent. She alleged that she herself had personal knowledge on the flow of events and can testify that Jansen was not found in the list from the initial up until the final screening.

“I would like to reiterate that we are not after the crown, we all know that there is a first runner up, we just want things to be looked into, so that this will never happen again,” Burden said.

She also challenged the organizers to show the curriculum vitae of Janson to really validate that “brains come first before beauty,” which had been consistent in the quality of women chosen in Miss Cebu as stated in its website.

Burden also alleged that Janson and her handler Dexter Alazas violated Rule 6 of the Rules and Regulations Governing Finalists Participation in Miss Cebu 2009, disallowing them to be in touch with the organizers.

She said Alazas was present at the Pasko sa Sugbo and Press Meet last December 8 and was even allowed to participate in the question-and-answer portion.

“Chairman Philipp Rodriguez was there and the staff of CCTC…Why wasn’t she disqualified when even the parents of the other candidates couldn’t go inside the CCTC office during the duration of the Miss Cebu search,” Burden said.

She also said the composition of the judges was unfair to the rest of the candidates considering that two judges Katrina Holigores and Tweety de Leon-Gonzalez were connected with Bigfoot where Janson’s career took off as a model.

On the other hand Alazas said Janson did go through a screening but was not seen by the other candidates.

“With regards to my presence during the press launch, I was there not as a handler of Kris but I was there because I brought along with me my talent, Miss Cebu 2008 runner-up, Jam Libatog who just arrived from Manila fresh from her stint in the Mutya ng Pilipinas,” he said. — Ferliza C. Contratista with Marigold P. Lebumfacil/BRP (THE FREEMAN)