2 RP beauties fare well in international contests - FUNFARE by Ricardo F. Lo

Although the Philippines didn’t bag any major titles ("special" awards, yes) in the top three international beauty pageants (Miss Universe, Miss World and Miss International), we didn’t really score zero, no thanks to India which has been dominating the contests, beating out Venezuela as harvester of beauty titles.

The Philippines actually fared very well in some (should I say "not so major") contests, such as Peachy Manzano who won as Miss Tourism International 2000 in Malaysia and Rachel Soriano who finished second runner-up among 51 contestants for the Miss Tourism World 2000 held in Malta.

Here’s the full report from Funfare’s "beauty experts" Felix Manuel, Joey Cezeare, Gery Yumping and Francis Calubaquib:

Last Nov. 26 our very own Rachel Muyot Soriano won second runner-up honors in the 2000 Miss Tourism World Pageant held in Malta. We were able to talk with her upon her arrival at the NAIA and she shared with us a treasure of wonderful memories she had in the pageant.

During her 10-day stay in the exotic island, she gained a lot of friends who wish to visit our country. She was a favorite of the Maltese press people which played her up in the newspapers of the island nation several times.

Most of the 50 delegates chose her as their winner even after the finals. Her poise, charm, grace and innate beauty made her popular among the other girls. She felt very close to the eventual winner, Francys Barraza of Venezuela, proof of which are the pictures she showed us, majority of which were with Miss Venezuela.

During the finals night, Rachel was adjudged "Best in Long Gown." Her long and flowing Harlston gold gown drew raves from everyone as she sashayed onstage. Her experience as a professional ramp and fashion model helped her inch her way to the crown. Her experience in the 1998 Miss World Pageant proved to be fruitful, too, for she learned to enjoy the pageant even if she and other contestants were under pressure.

After the special awards were handed out, the top winners were announced right away. No semi-finalists were chosen from the 51 bevy of beauties from all over the world. First runner-up was Renata Voitchovskaja of Lithuania and Francys Barraza of pageant superpower Venezuela won the crown of Miss Tourism World 2000.

Rachel is thankful to her parents, jeweler Ruthy Soriano and the former Imelda Muyot. She also thanks all the people instrumental in choosing her as the country’s first delegate to this pageant. She advised that we should send girls to the different pageants because it is a big plus for our tourism industry.

With all the major and minor beauty pageants over and done with, it seemed that only two countries dominated the pageant scene this year: India and Venezuela.

The Philippines hogged the limelight last Nov. 19 in Malaysia when our bet, Mutya ng Pilipinas 3rd runner-up and the reigning Miss Quezon City Maria Esperanza Corazon "Peachy" Acosta Manzano, was crowned Miss Tourism International 2000.

Peachy, as she is fondly called, 24, is a dentistry graduate from the Manila Central University. She is the youngest daughter of Eduardo Manzano and the former Corazon Acosta. She is very thankful for the support of her family and friends most especially the Mutya ng Pilipinas family.

Her runners-up include Garnier Maud of France (first), Maria Cristina Lopez Palacios of Venezuela (second), Olesya Krakmalyova of Ukraine (third) and Lourdes Martinez of Spain (fourth).

Peachy won two other special awards, namely Miss Eco-Tourism and Miss Hospitality.

The other semi-finalists were Shakira MacDonald of Costa Rica, Katerina Papezova from the Czech Republic, Miia Lakkisto of Finland, Agnes Glowacki of Germany and Mabel Kang Chor Peng of Malaysia.

The STAR is among the papers playing up the new game show Who Wants To Be a Millionaire (inspired by the same hit show in the US and Britain). Readers have been asking Funfare to comment on the show but since I barely have time to watch TV these days, I’ve been missing Millionaire and other shows besides.

But reader "Marcelo of Makati" has some brutally frank (but constructive just the same) observations about Millionaire. Here’s his letter:

I wonder why you have failed to assess Viva TV’s newest game show, the well-hyped Who Wants To Be A Millionaire despite its having been on-air for almost a month now. Nevertheless, let me offer my two cents’ worth on "the most popular game show in the world" focusing on the hosting faculty of Christopher de Leon.

Prior to my having been glued on the show since its pilot episode, I tried to monitor its British, American, and Indian versions. And to be perfectly honest and cruel, I believe that Mr. De Leon failed to be at par with his foreign counterparts. He has yet to learn a lot from them. The guy lacks spontaneity and his dry humor fails miserably in rousing viewer interest on the show. No thrill, less frill. WW2BAM has started to become a dud. Additional sound effects like suspense music and canned laughter could also complement Mr. De Leon’s jejune style of hosting.

Another thing: some of the questions make a mockery of the contestants’ intelligence. I would like to believe that those who passed the show’s rigid screening are persons of above average intelligence. Thus asking them questions like,"Saan lungsod sa Batangas mayor si Vilma Santos?" or "I-alphabetize ang pangalan ng mga dwende ni Snow White" is rather silly and insulting. Worse, the host–in amazement and adrenaline-filled way – has become used to yelling, "(Answer) ... is corrrrect! [Para bang...hello?!? Lahat ng tao, alam ang answer. Bakit kailangang ipag-sigawang tama?]

These, notwithstanding, I compel myself to like the show. At least, WW2BAM appears to be a better alternative to the inane and exploitative portions in Eat Bulaga and MTB.

As for the show’s host, I think Christopher de Leon has a lot to improve. And it would be unfair to replace him this early. However, expectations on him are very high and failing to meet them might result to ridicule and bad reviews. If this happens, it would be better for him to take a respite from doing a boob-tube chore and concentrate on a craft where he excels most-acting. After all, Boyet remains to be Philippine cinema’s finest actor, and one of the best artists this country has ever had.