Last night’s Swimsuit Preliminaries of Miss Philippines Earth 2017 raised more than a few eyebrows
Last night at Oakwood Joy~Nostalg Center in Ortigas, Carousel Productions introduced two firsts in their pre-pageant activities for Miss Philippines Earth 2017. The usually closed-door preliminary judging of the swimsuit competition – dubbed Beauty of Figure – was made open to the public – with select members of the media and special guests in attendance. And what was more intriguing to most came during the actual judging when the candidates individually paraded in black two-piece swimwears with their faces veiled in black.
Reviews were mixed as some quarters did not particularly liked the implication of faceless bodies being assessed. There were comments that stated opposition since the entire judging should really complete the look – face/body, confidence and physical fitness. I was also taken aback by the novel idea. It wasn’t easy covering the event where faces are covered. Someone even joked that the ladies appeared like going for a swim but got lost along the way and ended up attending a wake instead. A bad quip really, but it can’t really be helped because even the press photographers got uneasy taking good pictures when the faces could not be properly matched with the figures. The organizers defended the concept by stating that the focus is really on Beauty of Figure, just as next week’s Beauty of Face/Poise will zero in on the ones with the…what else but beautiful faces. And on July 10, Beauty of Intelligence will have them scored on how well they can handle Q&As.
Mercifully, the veils were removed as soon as the preliminary judging was completed. The smiles on the ladies’ faces made up for the earlier cover-ups. Here are sample photos from last night’s activity.
normannorman.com 
Question and answer where candidates are hidden away with only access to a microphone so the judges could hear them from the other room.
make-up free competition with the girls wearing a hijab thus only exposing their faces.
I love the idea. Kudos MEP! Although sana hindi black veil.. sana mardigras o festival o animal masks mas lalong sexy.
Sobrang STUPID ng idea
OBVIOUSLY GUSTO LANG PAG-USAPAN!!!!!
ung mga blogs dito about mpe nilalangaw, kaya ayan gumagawa lang sila ng ingay paa blockbuster ang blogs about sa kanila. alam nilang MALI pero ginawa nila for their own benefit. Look at you at nagkainteres kau sa pageant.
Not acceptable since beauty is the totality of everything. Its just a mockery since a beauty queen need not hide herself. Lets say she has the most beautiful body figure but if her face looks like a horse or somewhat. Will she win on the final round. You re just playing with the girls.or just covering up since most of the contestant failed on that beautiful face criteria.
I love it!
Oo nga naman! Para di impluwensiyahan Yung judging sa ganda ng mukha then cover it. Sana ngalang MEP would have been more creative by letting them wear a Venetian Mask instead of a black veil na parang panluksa.
They say that the next segment would be the “No make up” go-see and this time body naman ang covered then 1 on 1 interview.
In each of the segment iba-iba ang judges.
This is a very specialized approach!
They would get the best winner both in local and international pageant!
ok lng nman ang ganito. atleast first in pageant history. for sure kokopyahin ‘to ng ms. grandmother pageant ni nawat.
Puwede nama’ng Carnival or Venetian masks kung huwag lang makita ang mukha to eliminate bias.
Or since this is Miss Earth, why did they not consider artistically-rendered animal masks? It has been done on some runways in Paris Couture Week… NO, I an NOT being fash or anything…
There is an OBVIOUS intent to provoke. I’m sorry to be negative.
Some changes can be so backward.
Miss Universe changing their format took away the glitz and glamor of past editions.
Miss World removing the swimsuit competition and the leaderboard last year made it crystal clear the winner is hand picked by Julia.
And now this, swimsuits with veil? Evokes emotion associated with death. So weird. Beach wear should be associated with fun and joy.
There must be a reason why these are not universally acceptable. Beauty pageants should uplift contestants and not take away their moments to shine onstage.
Nararamdaman ko struggle to keep the swimsuit competition sa beauty pageant. Maraming “enlightened” ang maiingay na nagsasabi na irrelevant na to and this objectifies women. Parang in this day and age walking on eggshells mga organizers na hindi makuyog ng mga “matatalino at informed” ang magkaron ng swimsuit segment. Nakaka irita minsan kase wala namang issue na ganyan noon. Sure ok yung may backstory ka and magaling ka kumuda pero it seems na kahit tumaba ka acceptable at celebrated ka sa beauty pageants ngayon. Kung sundalo ka or rocket scientist pasok ka sa banga. Para bang laking no no na regular girl ka nahilig sa pageantry at maalaga ka sa katawan. So gets to Ko move ng ME maging innovative in presenting girls in a swimsuit para mas legit na Hindi flesh pine peddle ng pageant community kundi form and physique. Exciting ba sakin to as an old school pageant lover? Maybe no but I could get used to this. Sabagay it makes sense for the prelims para naman yung less talked about girls na walang PR machine may fighting chance tumaas scores since Hindi na factor identity nila. Kita mo pa rin naman face nila through their veils pero at least medyo Hindi ka na naka focus sa face. For the prelims ok sakin to – good move to have a legit excuse to continue having the swimsuit segment. Basta syempre sa finals ma satisfy nila pageant fans na hindi pa ready sa avant garde styling for swimsuit.
New, divisive but worth commendation and acknowledgement. Beauty has aspects to consider and I don’t mind this concept at all. Women and men can be completely naked and at the same sensitively conservative, more so in swimsuit and masked. Free your minds, only then you will show and understand the core of respect otherwise you’ll be forever boxed until you are on your own dust.
Reaction has been mixed. Not universally acceptable, apparently. May this be the first and last time they do this. It may lower their stock in the eyes of the pageantry world.
Just because it is not universally acceptable doesn’t mean it is not a good idea. Sometimes people need to take risk against what is the norm. Look at Miss World who got rid of the swimsuit competition. Was it universally acceptable? No and yet they did it. It takes guts to do something different outside the norm so hats off to MPE.
Capital PAK😅
PAK na PAK. hihihi
Dear 4M,
In the same manner that something that is NOT universally acceptable is also a good idea. There must be a REASON why something is not universally acceptable.
Comparing the decision of Ms. World to get rid of the swimsuit composition is SO different, in fact it is the EXACT opposite of what Ms. Earth is doing. Miss World is lessening the commodification of women by getting rid of the swimsuit competition. Miss Earth is in effect asking us to focus on the boobs and crotch of these women parading in bikinis by covering their faces. See the difference dear?
By all means take your hats off off to MPE. They’ve taken the faces off their contestants anyway.
World Peace.
Advocates of gender equality and women empowerment will not like this. Having their faces covered while bodies are exposed and subjected to scrutiny from the prying eyes of the audience is degrading to women. Unlike the usual way of presenting the candidates, this is a worse form of women commodification where women are presented as mere “flesh”. Women of substance will never be “faceless”. This is a step backward for MPE.
I smell a gimmick from miles away. I think it is not a good idea (and I am being kind here by not saying “it is a stupid idea”. Lol) to cover their faces. As Mr. Norman said, selection of winners in ANY beauty contest is the totality of each component (body, face, intelligence, gait, carriage, poise, overall impact). On how each component relates to the total whole.
I dread how beauty of the face will be presented. lol. Will all the heads be lined up on a table with holes? Lol.
And intelligence? Hidden contestants with voice over responses to questions? Lol
World Peace.
Kaloka
Sigurado ko kapag ganito pa rin ang gagawin sa darating na patimpalak ng Miss Earth 2017 sa November, malamang wala nang sasali. Alin ba ang mas mahalaga ang kanilang ganda at katawan o yung kanilang advocacy para sa Mother Earth. Huwag naman sanang magalit ang Inang Kalikasan at sana mapatawad kayo ni Mother Earth dahil hindi nila alam ang pinaggagawan ninyo.
Awkward as hell and misogynistic undoubtedly. MPE must really intentionally be trying to ruin their already subpar reputation.
This is humiliating for the candidates. If it’s a fashion show or art installation I wouldn’t mind the anonymous approach, but this is supposed to be about highlighting strong women with passion for the environment. Instead they’ve been reduced to faceless tits and legs.
You can still see their faces though. The favorites pa rin will still be scored high.
Ganun ba Ryan, puwes babawiin ko na yung comment ko sa baba😊cherette
Ayoko sanang mag comment sa MEP dahil I’m not interested pero naBingo ako ng MEP sa bagong concept nila as in letter B – Bakla numero Uno cherette.
I love it😗hihihi
I hope the judges and the press didn’t memorize the number of their favoured candidates.
The candidate’s official number should be changed during swimwear competition to prevent bias results.
Ganyan dapat may bagong paandar para Di boring 😄
Sa beauty of the Face naman ay dapat pareho ang mga damit na suot 😊🤔
Naview nyo na ba yung interview ni “Pambansang Manok” sa senado kc nagtiltilaok na nman cya sa BBC-Hardtalk.
So, tama ako na chicken brain cya hihihi
Putak ng Putak ang bakla at kailangan na nyang magpatingin kay Mommy N for Psycho series of examination …cherette😗😙
I think you are the only one left in this blog who is crazy and fanatic about politics and political parties bong
Wiz ko paki yang politics na pinagsasabi mo Doremi hihihi
Ang sa akin ay maiparating sa mga readers natin kung ano na ang totoong nangyayari sa bansa natin at magkaroon din ng konsyensya ang ating mga beauty queen na panatilihing manaig ang tama at totoong pangyayari at huwag pagagamit sa mga demonyo dahil lamang sa kalansing ng pera kaya join na sa mga pekeng makabayan at makamahirap ngunit mga corrupt at mas demonyo pala kay satanas hihihi cherette cherette lang😚
HOW STUPID THIS BONG COULD BE, THIS BLOG IS ALL ABOUT BEAUTY PAGEANT TAPOS HAHALUAN MO NG PULITIKA, SOBRANG PAIT AT NGITNGIT NAMAN YATA ANG NARARAMDAMAN NG PUSO MO AT GANON KA NA KUNG MAMIGHATI AT PATI SA BLOG NA DI NAMAN RELATED E ISINASUMBULAT MO YANG WALANG KAPARARAKAN MONG IDILOHIYA NA DI NAMAN TALAGA MAWARI KUNG ANO TALAGA IPINAGLALABAN MO!
JUST AN APPEAL TO EVERYONE, LET THIS BLOG BE ALL ABOUT BEAUTY TSUVANIS NA LANG, WAG NANG HALUAN PA NG POLITICS, MAG AWAY TAYO AT MAGBANGAYAN AT MAG OKRAYAN O MAGKASAN-AYUNAN MAN BASTA PAGEANTRY LANG DAPAT ANG PAKSA, OF COURSE CONCERN DIN NAMAN TAYO SA MGA NAGAGANAP SA BANSA NATIN PERO POR DYOS POR SANTO NAMN, HINDI AKMA ANG MGA PULITIKONG PAKSA SA BLOG NA ITO.
LET THIS BLOG BE ALL ABOUT THE ART AND THE SCIENCE OF PAGEANTRY!
Graveh naman c manang angelo sa Stupid😙love soft as an easy chair. ..Stupid…charette
Di mo pa pala alam na may politics sa beauty pageant manang A.
Beauty pageant is politics.
Kung walang politics sa beauty pageant ay walang Miss Universe na ang venue ay Philippines 3x pa dahil lng sa politics. ….cherette.
Hindi rin mananalo c Pia Kung walang politics. …aminin.
C maxine ay 4th MU crown na sana dahil sa politics pero sumemplang….aminin 😂
Sa simbahang katoliko nga may politics, sa beauty pageant pa kaya hihihi PWE…cherette lng 😙
They should have also walked barefoot for a more authentic look.
Agree
This may help the girls whose primary strength is their hard and toned physiques.
Very ingenious! I like it!
Good concept. Sometimes, seeing a familiar face introduces bias in judging. At least this time, girls are being judged “blind”, not for who they are but for what they are competing in.