At the onset, I thought that armchair judging the competition would be a walk in the park. How wrong was I. As the weeks progressed, the thirty-three (33) Official Candidates of Mister International Philippines 2022 started leveling up as they evolved from the usual male pageant joiners into prime cuts of contenders who are capable of representing the country in any international competition here or abroad.
When the Preliminaries unfolded earlier this week, I realized that we do indeed have a real battle of some of the finest young Filipino men vying to achieve pageant glory and a wider platform to further their respective causes. It may require more to tempt the most jaded appetites among netizens whose tastes preclude them from giving approval to the template of a titleholder who may not be as tall or brawny as their Caucasian or Latino counterparts. Personally, I have gone past that stage a long time ago. In these all-embracing times, the challenge is to find potential winners who have the looks, physique and communication skills that combine with a relatable personality that can make them more influential and dominant in words and actions.
Here now are the fifteen (15) contestants who – I reckon – have the makings of a national titleholder. Come Grand Coronation Night, it will all be up to them to prove me right or wrong. Let that be a challenge to each one named below, and to those who did not make my own cut.
MJ Ordillano of Paranaque City
Michael Ver Comaling of Leyte
Hisam Hit of Quezon Province
Andre Cue of Cagayan de Oro
John Ernest Tanting of Cebu City
Kitt Cortez of San Juan City
Mico Teng of Davao City
Mark Avendano of Biñan, Laguna
Christian Villarin of Iloilo Province
Godfrey Nikolai Murillo of Macabebe, Pampanga
Kristzan Karlo delos Santos of Imus, Cavite
Rafael Anciano of San Pedro, Laguna
Carl Joseph Abueg of Zambales
Jay Cordovales of Albay
Kent Magno of Sta. Rosa City
In my mind, our representative to the next edition of Mister International is named above, likewise with the First Runner-Up who will suit up for Mister Global. Now let’s see who will actually claim their destinies on Monday night.
My potential Top 5 are MJ Ordillano, Michael Comaling, Hisam Hit, Andre Cue and John Ernest Tanting
Good luck to all the #distinctivelyhandsome men of #MisterInternationalPhilippines2022!
The Finals at Okada Manila will be hosted by Michael Bristol and Kylie Verzosa, along with Q&A segment host Boy Abunda. JM Bales, who is behind the song “Magandang Dilag” for MUPH, will perform his new composition “Makisig” – made especially for the competition.
normannorman.com 
Ako lang ba pero di ko gets ang hype with Comaling. Mukha siyang beki. Godfrey Murillo is pinakamalasa sa lahat. Di ko lang sure ang comms skills.
Girl Abundat … belaaaatsimongeeenah !
Except for Tanting, I concur with Norman’s choices. I replace Tanting with Cordovales.
Tanting is T-A-L-L. He might be the tallest in the class… Mr. Blogger’s Picks has the ‘three towers’, consisting of Cebu City, Quezon Province, & his city mate (the BIG photo in the grid & presumably his bet for the crown).
John Ernest plays basketball & speaks well.
The city mate, parang Fil-Am ang tunog. Parang puwede’ng jumowa kay former Miss Paranaque na dati na’ng lumaban sa MUP at ngayo’y pambato natin sa Bolivia later this year… Like that.
my bet for the title is no. 13 Marilao, Bulacan …. I do not know his name
Bruce Espeso
Aaay! Pareho tayo, mhie. Kung nag-effort lang si Mr. Marilao magpaganda ng katawan, s’ya ang pinakapogi at malaki ang potential na manalo. Matangkad pa naman s’ya. Ang lakas ng star appeal n’ya. Naku, mag-artista na s’ya, pero not mga BL stories. He can be the next showbiz hunk.
Pero agree na ako na si Ordillano na ang panalunin. S’ya ‘yung mukhang ready.
That’s all.
Marilao is really showbiz material. I hope he gets to be managed in that direction.
I-manage mo na Tito Norms. Lol. Malaki ang future niya sa showbiz, napaka-pretty ng face. Boy next door na pwedeng gawing hunk. Nai-el din ako sa kanya. Hahaha! Ganyan mga bet ko, beefy na pretty face.😋 Nakakaloka.
That’s all.
Nakakaloka talaga haha
Jusko, Tito Norms! Handa akong magtaksil para kay Papa Bruce. Hahaha! Madami na sigurong umaaligid na sangkabaklaan sa kanya. Nakakaloka. (Me: Bruce, you want to go to the US? 😂)
On a serious note, madaming pogi sa pakontest na ito. I am pretty sure, may mga mag-aartista sa kanila.
That’s all.
Ay talagang deretsahan ka, Anna. Parang yung reaction mo sa photos ni Sid Lucero in one of our favorite sites. 😊😬
Would I confirm o deny na ako ‘yun? Hahaha! Nakakaloka, Tito Norms. Hahaha!
Basta, Bruce Espeso is now my love.
That’s all.
Ana, Sid lucero has always been a fantasy of mine. The tats in his body remind me of a Pacific Islander from Tonga or Samoa. Haha
So, now that you have seen Sid’s stills in his naked glory, did your sexual urges escalate? Haha! I can imagine the ethnic Samoan or Hawaiian in Sid. So hot!
Sa local showbiz, kay Yasser Marta ako nakapokus talaga. Kelan kaya mag-Bench ‘yun? Hihi!
Nakakaloka ka, Tito Norms. Haha!
I have already saved the stills in a safe for future adorations, Anna haha
Tito Norms…
Enjoy!
Tsuk! Haha!
Bagay po sila ni Kylie (Verzosa)! If they dated, I can see a gorgeous pair! Guy’s studying to be an airplane mechanic (or at least I think so). Maganda’ng story line sa isa’ng ‘teleserye’!
(Naalala ko tuloy, si Kesha Ramachandran was also learning to fix planes. Kumusta siya?)
Big Yes to Hisam Hit!
Big NO to Boy Abunda!
Fret not, po. Backstage host lang, ‘ata, si Mr. Abunda.
Importante, si Madame Kylie ang maka-fronta sa entablado. Shala!
(The Michael Bristol guy is a long-time host of the pageant, right? Fil-Am siya, no?)
Mr. Blogger, sino po’ng primary pick niyo for Global? Must be at least as good as Ricky Gumera in terms of personality, kasi medyo bland ‘ata dating nu’ng nakaraan natin’g kinatawan. But of course, dapat swak sa panlasa ng mga Thai hosts.
ANG GANDA NG MATA~TITIG NI CDO! Parang agila.
Leyte or Quezon Province