Miss Philippines wins Best In Long Gown; Miss India selected as MP Miss Internet

The Mandaluyong Gymnasium underwent a novel transformation from sports venue to fashion arena when the 42 Official Miss Earth candidates displayed their grace and sophistication in evening wear during the Long Gown Preliminaries held last night. The usually boxing-and-basketball identified place was made to look like a concert hall but with the glitter and fineries of a formal affair. Droves of Mandaluyong residents were in attendance to watch a show that is offbeat but welcome to their accustomed get-ups. The Mabuhay Pageants team - ably represented by Gerry Diaz, Boyet Blas, kyle t., and Joseph Vitug - did not miss a single beat of this major pre-final event as the evening was likewise a confirmation of its formal acceptance to the beauty pageant fold when the first-ever MP Miss Internet Special Award was handed out and accorded official recognition by the organizers.

	Prior to the presentation of the ladies, a string of speeches and song/dance numbers filled the program. But with the audience unable to contain their excitement, host Charlie Ysmael swiftly segued to the competition proper. A rousing applause followed as each delegate individually paraded their elegant evening gowns after introducing themselves and expressing their brief pitches to Mother Earth. Notwithstanding the language barrier for most of the beauties, they were warmly received and made to feel at ease. The Latinas, most especially, did not have a hard time addressing their messages. They spoke in simple Spanish to the delight of an appreciative crowd who showed understanding of the medium despite the latter's very limited knowledge in the same. On to the "piece-de-resistance" now, we were astounded by the elegance and high quality in the choice of long gowns each contestant wore.  Save for a few
Wowowie! Miss Brazil wows the audience.
middling attires that do not exactly qualify as fashion disasters at all, their evening dresses can compete head-to-foot with the standards set by Miss Universe and Miss World combined. But since this writer is not an indefectible critic of formal wear, Mabuhay correspondent Joseph Vitug will take charge of describing and rating each number down to the last detail in his own report. Top of my mind, though, the stand-out was definitely Miss Philippines with her earth-inspired bustier-type dress splashed with oval-shaped patterns of varied hues & colors, accentuated by a neckpiece of green crystal beads and a generously flowing shawl of burnt sienna pinned on one shoulder. This convinced the judges to award her as Best In Long Gown, which made everyone inside the gym scream in euphoria. Placing 1st Runner-Up was Miss India, wearing a flesh-toned design reminiscent of Miss Asia-Pacific 2000 Diya Mirza's attire (without the one-sided long sleeve) when she won the crown. 2nd Runner-Up was Miss Argentina, garbed in a flaming red gown with a tasteful criss-crossing strap around the neck which she designed herself.
	Miss Bolivia rocccks!
Named as 3rd Runner-Up was Miss Brazil in a very revealing formal wear with only an emblazoned V-shaped cover for her upper front and a really wide and low neckline that exposes a revealing bra top which complemented her bosoms. Rounding up the five is Miss Bolivia who chose to wear a low-cut deep yellow long dress with half-moon shaped gold ornaments sewn all over. Another highlight of the evening was the announcement of Miss Friendship.It almost appeared unanimous that the girls had only one person in mind to bestow this honor to, and she is Miss Japan. With all the delegates chanting her name as she was being awarded, Misuzu was brought to tears, and this endeared her to all the ladies even more. But without a doubt, the most important part of the affair for Mabuhay Pageants was the awarding of MP Miss Internet. Only Gerry Diaz and Ed Saludes (who both tabulated the results) were in the know as to who actually came out on top and the rest of us only found out when the winner's name was announced. Only one point separated the first and second placers, and as the outcome had it, Miss India Shamita Singha, was proclaimed as the very first Mabuhay Pageants Miss Internet (or Miss Earth-Mabuhay, if you will). Gerry Diaz went onstage to give her the handsome trophy (a Silver Cup), sash, and bouquet of flowers. During the picture-taking, this writer also presented her with a special gift of Philippine-made souvenir items. The long gown contest, being the final phase of preliminary selection for the Top 10 on finals night, was indeed a memorable event. All the contestants may already be drained and exhausted due to the back-breaking schedule of Miss Earth activities. Nonetheless, they showed real poise, refinement, and professionalism last night and proved that they have the true fighting spirit beauty queens are made of. By this time, they may already have a clear idea as to who among them will ultimately come out victors on Sunday night. But until then, the close bonding that has developed will keep their new-found sisterhood strong enough not to get spoiled by the pressures of competition. Between now and October 28, all of us here at Mabuhay Pageants will be revealing our individual Top 10 predictions. Having known them in person and after covering a majority of their scheduled agendas and appearances since October 7, we are quite confident that our in-depth assessment and eventual ranking of the ladies will not be far-off from the actual semifinalists on Sunday night. Watch out for these posts! Till my next report!