Beauties all in a row

They come smarter and prettier every year.

“I am proud of this year’s batch,” said PAGCOR assistant VP for Entertainment Bong Quintana of the 25 candidates in the 2012 Miss Casino Filipino search. “They exude not only confidence, they also have a heart for community service.”

The winner, who will be known at the grand coronation tonight at the PAGCOR Grand Theater in Parañaque City, will receive P500,000 in cash, almost double that of last year’s winner, Catrine Rosary Ocampo, plus P200,000 as donation to a charitable institution of her choice.

At stake for the runners-up: P400,000 (first), P300,000 (second), P200,000 (third) and P100,000 (fourth), and, for deserving ones, a chance to work at PAGCOR and Casino Filipino.

Barely a week later, on Nov. 24, one of the 68 hopefuls (from the same number of countries) will be crowned 2012 Miss Earth by outgoing queen Olga Alava of Ecuador at the coronation night at the Versailles Palace in Alabang (covered live by Starworld and aired on The Filipino Channel [TFC] on Nov. 25 at 10 a.m.).

Twenty-six Miss Earth bets graced Pico de Loro Cove at Hamilo Coast’s fifth annual tree-planting activity at the Pico de Loro Beach & Country Club (PDLBCC).

Meanwhile, Misses Philippines, Thailand and USA were voted Darlings of the Press (awarded gold, silver and bronze medals, respectively) at the press presentation for the Miss Earth girls recently, with 2011 Miss Philippines Earth Athena Imperial doing the honors.

According to Funfare’s  “other beauty expert” Celso de Guzman Caparas, during the photo shoot Gangnam Style music was played and Miss Korea promptly danced the latest craze sweeping the world.

Celso noted that first-timers in the search are delegates from Cook Islands, Moldova and Reunion. Miss Italy was the first to arrive (on Oct. 31) and Miss Zimbabwe the last (Nov. 5). At 6’1”, Miss Puerto Rico is the tallest and, at 5’4” Miss Guam is the shortest. Miss Salvador at 18 is the youngest and Miss Slovak Republic at 26 is the oldest.

“Two delegates have already won in other international contests,” said Celso. They are Miss Norway who was crowned 2011 Miss Globe International and Miss USA who was 2011 World Miss University. “Miss Singapore is the roommate of Miss Philippines,” added Celso.

The 2012 Miss Earth contest aligns itself with the UN General Assembly’s declaration of 2012 as “the International Year of Sustainable Energy for All” which aims to ensure universal access to modern energy services.

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