What’s not to love about Karen Gallman? The 19 year-old Fil-Aussie – who traces her Pinoy roots in Bohol – is living up to her pre-screening hype as the girl who could possibly be THE face of Bb. Pilipinas 2012. With that angelic face, very-in personal style, cool communication skills and an over-all stunning Latina aura, she should be guaranteed a crown this early in the competition. But wait. There is one nagging quality that’s constantly bothering armchair judges who want to give their all-out support to this Rodgil Flores ward – her height. You see, if not for standing barely 5’5″, I would put my name at stake and predict her as the sole qualifier for the Bb. Pilipinas-international title. The girl is a perfect fit for the Japan/China-based pageant where a doll-faced delegate is almost always a shoo-in for the top.
Karen’s fans and supporters are likely to counter my views by stating that if she meets the minimum height requirement, then there should be no cause for concern at all. But that’s exactly it – a middling height can be cause for concern in the international arena. And I’m not even being subjective because pageant enthusiasts will bear me out on this matter. To state that she is capable of doing a Precious Lara Quigaman would be taking things too far at this point.
Give me some more time to mull things over. And if my mind totally clears up by the first week of April, I would have a more definitive take on her chances of bringing home one of the three crowns on coronation night. At this point, I’m still giving the other Miss International-fit delegates (like the significantly taller Katrina Dimaranan, Roxane Joy Jesalva and Liezl Alcantara) some elbow room to nudge their respective game plans for the national finals.
Meanwhile, check out for more of Karen Gallman as she competes for Bb. Pilipinas 2012. 😉