CEBU, Philippines - They answered the call, and are now one step closer to a crown.
Three Cebuanas, two of them married and one a single mother, were chosen to represent the Visayas in this year’s Mrs. Philippines-Globe pageant. Four out of 14 aspirants were initially selected during the regional pageant held April 16 at the Cebu International Convention Center, but one backed out.
They are Nanette Ballono, 32, a single mother who works as a store consignor supervisor; Lubesly Tellidua, 33, a fashion wear businesswoman and licensed Special Education teacher; and Jessica Eribal, 35, My Pretty Mama 2012 winner, an HR consultant, model and Breast Cancer awareness advocate.
The three are up against 15 other candidates picked out of hundreds of applicants from all over the country who are equally successful in their chosen fields. Among them are a 1989 Supermodel of the World Philippines finalist, a Mrs. Asia International 2012 1st runner-up, a former member of the defunct TV show “Ang TV Na†and a sister of action star Robin Padilla.
The winner will receive P50,000 cash and P300,000 worth of prizes, plus the rare opportunity of representing the country in the Mrs. Globe 2013 World Finals this September 19 to 29 at Shenzhen, China.
Special awards such as Mrs. Friendship, People’s Choice Award, Most Beautiful Face, Mrs. Body Beautiful, Most Elegant Woman and Woman of Substance Award will also be handed out.
Filipinas have been sent as contestants to Mrs. Globe since 2010, but it was only last year that a bet was chosen via a beauty pageant. For the first two years, candidates were just selected from previous beauty contest winners. This year, the pageant also opened its doors to single moms.
The Mrs. Philippines-Globe 2013 coronation night will take place on May 25 at the Sunset Pavilion of Sofitel Hotel in Manila. – Vanessa Balbuena/Photos from www.mrsphilippinesglobe.com