Other than their oversupply of black evening gowns, the contestants of Binibining Pilipinas 2015 will be known as, well, being very quotable.
Inquirer Super was at the Big Dome live show on Sunday looking out for two moments: one where a dream is gloriously unfolding before its owner, and another where the Binibini falls apart because she just could not process the question — or in Tagalog, the pagkakalat.
(It’s the latter that grabs the headlines, so we were extra-alert for that.)
We are happy to report, however, that we did not see YouTube-worthy epic fails this year. Each answer made sense somehow, and for most, the only problems were on missing information, sentence construction and, naturally, nerves. If the ladies were a cross-section of the Filipino people, then we’d be a very intelligent nation in a decade.
We rated the answers of the Top 15 on a five-point scale. To add perspective (and because we had an extra ticket), we recruited a pageant pessimist (Mariejo Ramos) to witness the “most beautiful night in the Philippines.”
(READ: The Binibining Pilipinas 2015 Q&A portion)
KIMVERLYN SUIZA (Second runner-up)
Pageant believer: She was very gracious. I mean, how many thank yous did she say? I do not think her answer was the best in terms of construction, but mentioning the waterproof Filipino spirit is a crowd-pleaser. Having to submerge my feet in black floodwater several times, the statement definitely made me feel like a hero. (Speaking of black, her gown made her look so divine. Maipilit lang.)
The score: 4
Pageant pessimist: It was a sincere albeit a little too obvious answer. Our people’s resilience is indeed a light at the end of the tunnel, but there is more to the Philippines than the façade of “happiness” from collective forgetting/escaping after adversities.
A look at history (and its effect on the present), or a more critical observation of what is actually happening in a developing country like ours and how Filipinos are dealing with it will be a more substantive answer. She may then end with a message of hope.
The score: 3.5
PRINCESS CAMU
Pageant believer: “You have to answer very well,” Toni Gonzaga said. She didn’t. She was just short on detail, considering that Angelina is a well documented person. I hope to see her next year.
The score: 2
Pageant pessimist: Though a name outside Hollywood isn’t expected, her choice is a good one. Jolie’s character is extraordinary, but a mention of her humanitarian efforts or even her small acts of bravery as a mother and as a human being would solidify her choice. Jolie is a woman who knows what she stands for and actually does something about it.
The score: 3
HANNAH SISON (First runner-up)
Pageant pessimist: Here is the be-all and end-all of questions. Her answer sticks to the symbolic value of being a “Binibini,” but shall we stop at that? A Binibini’s influence must be elevated from being a “personality” to a “champion” of causes—which means actually doing things for others than being just a mouthpiece.
The score: 3
Pageant believer: Pessimist has so much hugot. I saw sincerity in the kunot-noo and the hand gestures. I really thought she would land a crown on her last hurrah. (I’m adding half a point for the “Chandelier” earrings.)
The score: 4
BRENNA GAMBOA
Pageant pessimist: Good pageant answer for a less critical question. But it’s also tricky if we look at it closely: How can you become a “national figure” for a country plagued with issues of identity, autonomy, sovereignty and territoriality? I hope her answer means she’s aware of our country’s history vis-a-vis its perennial quest for national identity before she can be its torch-bearer.
The score: 3.5
Pageant believer: She talked about her Filipino roots, about being proud of it. But why? What’s so different about the Filipino? Details, details, details. (P.S.: I am a proud Filipino.)
The score: 2.5
ROGELIE CATACUTAN (Bb. Pilipinas 2015 Supranational)
Pageant pessimist: Kudos to her for a sincere answer to a question on (again) the power relations between a man and a woman (when there shouldn’t be such a concept anymore). It would be better though if she expressed her own definition of success, which may or may not challenge the traditional concepts majority have in mind.
The score: 3
Pageant believer: “When you say love … it’s more of feelings.”
Wrong. #bitter
Plus points for wearing the color of love, though.
The score: 2.5
PIA WURTZBACH (Miss Universe Philippines 2015)
Pageant pessimist: Good message, but I’m just not sure the question specifically calls for such an answer. I was waiting for the key terms: democracy, public space, freedom of expression, limits of freedom, etc. But she failed to mention any.
The score: 3
Pageant believer: She did not tackle the question the traditional way. She made people think, buried her anti-government-censorship position in the message of self-censorship, na very practical. I like the dash of personality in her mention of “selfie.” Isn’t personality a big thing at Miss Universe?
The score: 4.5
TERESITA SSEN MARQUEZ
Pageant pessimist: Her answer is straight to the point and specific, and I’m pretty sure she had the Bangsamoro issue in mind. What added value to her answer is not the beauty pageant cliché that is the last sentence, but her mention of Filipinos’ integrity—which appeals to me more as a challenge to protect it and exercise it during these times than a recognition that we have it. Her answer sends a message of trust.
The score: 4
Pageant believer: The good Gen. Catapang might not have done a good job reading his question — relaks lang, sir — but the postpageant headline-grabber nailed the segment, in terms of structure. “The importance of dialogue”! A college professor would react to that just as he reacted to our thesis’ abstract — “Big words.” — but positively. The delivery sounded rehearsed, though.
The score: 4
MAOLIN YALUNG
Pageant pessimist: It’s a difficult question to answer. But asking Manny “to be himself” is just like asking him who really wants to be, how he truly wants to be remembered: as a boxer, as a musician, or as a politician? Maybe she could ask him instead to “trust the voice within” so he can finally find the focus that’ll help him win.
The score: 3
Pageant believer: Some people in the crowd probably thought dirty with the word “motivation.” Anyway, I think “Be yourself,” is insufficient. I’d expand on Pacquiao as the “Pambansang Kamao.” Her best move was touching on faith, but the advice was generally bad.
The score: 2
ANN COLIS (Bb. Pilipinas Tourism 2015)
Pageant pessimist: The answer is like connecting point A to point B, only that you cannot make a straight line out of it. A “change” requires a transformation from a previous state to present, but she failed to give us a picture of the transformation she went through, if any.
The score: 2.5
Pageant believer: Sayang, this morena. I get the point. Through Binibining Pilipinas, she was able to strengthen her commitment to education. However, she could have placed higher if she constructed her answer better.
The score: 3
JANICEL LUBINA (Bb. Pilipinas 2015 International)
Pageant pessimist: Never mind her grammar lapses because her answer is the real deal. She painted a picture of a truly empowered modern woman. Lubina tells us with this answer that a truly empowered Filipina knows that what she has, can have, and will have are results of her own choices and decisions — she can have these two goals because she has the ability to pursue them and to work hard enough to get them.
The score: 4
Pageant believer: She had the right idea, even the right background, to nail the question.
I think the problem was, the dots in her head connected all at the same time, to overwhelm her.
She could have run away with the top award if she began with her backstory, but her landing is a Cinderella story, still.
The score: 3
ALAIZA MALINAO
Pageant pessimist: It was a very limiting view of a woman and her capacity to set her own goals and realize things for herself. Who can forget the age-old premise: “A woman is created to guide a man”? We don’t want to start discussing equality here.
The score: 2
Pageant believer: One commenter to our live tweet said it succinctly: “Parang ang babaw?”
Instead of happiness, a better word would be contentment, I think.
The added love-life discussion only made the answer worse, BTW. It made the woman a perpetual supporting actor, which is wrong.
The score: 1.5
JUSTINE FELIZARTA
Pageant pessimist: To be able to offer an honest and heartfelt answer is always a good thing, especially when the contestant acknowledges the role of important people in her life in helping her be a better person.
The score: 3.5
Pageant believer: Love for family is a plus in our culture, and this Toni Gonzaga lookalike said that with such sincerity.
But when she said her family traveled a long way, she left out an important point: Where did they come from?
The score: 4
CHRISTI MCGARRY (Bb. Pilipinas 2015 Intercontinental)
Pageant pessimist: How we wish her ending scenario truly happens all the time, but the plight of OFWs cannot be expressed in a single sentence. Her words are also words that OFWs the world over tell themselves and their families—both as a message of hope and a promise.
The score: 3.5
Pageant believer: Aminin mo, you were carried away. Aside from using words that kids can grasp, such as “very, very, very much,” the answer covered the whole OFW story: the leaving, the enduring, the coming back. The Intercontinental placement is creating confusion, however. She had already placed in that pageant’s Top 15 in 2010.
The score: 5
ANJA PETER
Pageant pessimist: It was an obvious answer to a cliché question. It would be better if she discussed how this “gift,” the ability to give birth is both a privilege and a responsibility. And then maybe she can make a statement on “responsible parenthood” and reproductive health care issues that affect women today.
The score: 2
Pageant believer: Gasgas na ’yan.
A friend of mine hates this belief, which reduces a woman’s worth to pregnancy, and may tama siya.
What if you cannot bear a child? What if you don’t want to? Are you less of a woman then?
The score: 1.5
KYLIE VERZOSA
Pageant pessimist: Her answer is a glimpse of how the present society acknowledges the need to promote equality but still tolerates patriarchal standards. Yes, it’s her personal belief. But let us remember, every personal “belief” can be a reflection of a homogenous whole.
The score: 2.5
Pageant believer: She buckled because of nerves, and her answer was to me — and to Toni Gonzaga — confusing.
This is one of those times when the contestant could have made off by picking sides.
She could have been that hopeless romantic, which is still considered cute in the pageant world.
The score: 1.5
Looking at our verdict, what really sticks out is something that we’ve heard being discussed extensively at the Cubao overpass by two mother-and-daughter pairs and on the bus by three devastated middle-aged male friends: Why did Winwyn (Marquez) not win?
Lo and behold, aside from the tirade directed at Toni Gonzaga’s witty banter—that disregarded her effort to entertain the crowd while the judges deliberated for an hour—the Marquez controversy was a trending topic on social media. Several Twitter and Facebook friends of our own aired their disappointment.
“Why is Janicel Lubina there?” To us, she’s there because she topped both the swimsuit and gown competitions, and because she has an interesting background that had the whole Big Dome rallying behind her at one point in the live show.
“Why did Pia win?” We think she won the Miss Universe Philippines crown because she always, always managed to be memorable onstage. (Her twirl at the evening gown competition and her gazes into the camera are lingering in our heads.)
We will never know for sure what happened at the closed-door deliberations, but we think a Janine Tugonon/Ariella Arida moment just happened at Binibining Pilipinas for Marquez and our many other high-raters: It might have been more than just the answer.
