Actor/director David Chua acted as the official tour guide for the Miss Grand International 2022 contingent who visited Manila recently in commemoration of Miss Grand Philippines’ official media launch.
Along with his security detail, David brought them to some of Manila’s acclaimed tourist destinations, including Fort Santiago, Rizal Park and the National Museum.
Fresh from the success of the Miss Grand Philippines media launch last Thursday evening, November 24 at Hilton Manila, the VIP delegates of Miss Grand International (MGI) headed by its President/CEO Nawat Itsaragrisil, COO Teresa Chaivisut and contingent of MGI 2022 winning queens enjoyed every bit of their Manila tour.
The contingent of queens, led by Miss Grand International 2022 (Brazil) Isabella Menin, was comprised of 2nd Runner-Up Andina Julie (Indonesia), 3rd Runner-Up Luiseth Materan (Venezuela), 4th Runner-Up Mariana Beckova (Czech Republic), and 5th Runners-up Roberta Angela Tamondong (Philippines), Pich Votey Saravody (Cambodia), Priscilla Nicole Londoño, Oxana Isabel Rivera Alvarez (Puerto Rico) and Hirisley Jimenez (Spain).
Prior to the tour, the group also visited the Manila North Cemetery as part of their ongoing charity initiatives for the displaced families living there.
The queens, mostly first-time Manila visitors, were amazed to learn of the Philippines’ rich and colorful history, and couldn’t help but express their admiration for the Filipinos’ resilience for having gone through successive colonization periods.
David fondly talks about his brief but very meaningful conversations with Nawat.
“He rode with me in the car, so I had the chance to have a genuine conversation with him. He’s very straight to the point. What he wants, he’ll do. That’s what I admired about him. And I was surprised that he still remembers the streets inside the cemetery, where they dropped off some of their relief goods. That’s Nawat. What you see is what you get. Totoong tao siya,” David remarked.
The chinito actor, who was last seen in the GMA-7 teleserye Mano Po Legacy: The Family Fortune, also enjoyed his bonding moments with reigning MGI 2022 queen Isabella Menin and official PH delegate and 5th runner-up Roberta Tamondong.
David also recounts how the queens enjoyed their Jollibee stopover. Guess what they loved the most? ChickenJoy!!!
For the final leg of their Manila tour, the MGI 2022 queens did a mall show at Ayala Malls Circuit in Makati City on Saturday, November 26.
normannorman.com 
Nice gesture from MGI
Historic spots? Manila North Cemetery? What have they got to do with its “Stop the war” advocacy? Did they frame the visit to historic spots as a proud reminder of the hard-fought war to gain freedom from the shackles of colonialism? Did they frame the visit to the squatters in the cemetery as grim reminder of an ongoing war against poverty and human apathy that drives people to squat even among the tombs of the departed? Or, the visits are simply a touristy photo-opp event?
I get that it’s sport on this board to dunk on MGI (a lot of which is well-deserved din naman).
But how about we consider how effective Miss Earth’s advocacy has been since its inception?
1. Global temperatures of the last few years have been some of the hottest recorded and are continuing to rise. Miss Earth has been around since 2001, why hasn’t the pageant been able to reverse this?
2. Manila is pretty ratchet compared to Bangkok or Kuala Lumpur or Singapore because environmentally sustainable practices as simple as waste segregation is not practised by your average Pinoy citizen.
3. The Philippines remains one of the worst offfenders of marine plastic pollution.
4. The recent COP27 deliberations was the perfect time for the Miss Earth organization to promote their platform for the environment and yet the title holder was M.I.A. in Egypt.
I won’t bring up how cringe Miss Earth was in its early days when they had awards like the Ponds Pink White Skin. Did the organizers even consider how discriminatory that was to morena & darker-skinned delegates? Or how about the fact that one pageant camp has a monopoly on who gets to win the crown?
I know this post will get thumbs-down reactions because we will rally around our home-grown pageant & put down its nearest Southeast Asian competitor because we’re threatened & because we haven’t won that title yet.
So I ask: kung trash & walang kwenta ang MGI, why are we so pressed that we haven’t won it?
We might not need to win that (Golden) crown. I wonder if, deep in his heart, Mr. I is convinced we are crown-material… That’s why he never did. Get the philosophy chos?… 🙂
The day he crowns a Filipina, game over for MGI. THAT might be the fitting climax & vindication. In the meantime, he gives the chance to others. No, this is not meant to sound arrogant (of us). It simply is a gentle (!) reminder that he would not go to this extent if he never saw our potential.
A hometown stand-alone is a given; THERE, the TRUE/REAL battle he must wage against the REALITY that Thailand, in fact, has ALL MAJOR CROWNS AS STAND-ALONE contests – MUT, MWT, MTE, Miss Thailand (goes to MI), & MST. In this setting, we will see a more meaningful indication of just how strong~relevant MGT is!
In contrast, none of us question MPE’s right to exist… Or, mayroon? Comment below, po.
And as MPE/ME being under the sway of that-two-letter-camp-without-the-ampersand, ganu’n talaga. The ONLY way to guarantee competition for your wards is to organize a contest for them. At kanya’kanya’ng coterie of Managers/Handlers ‘yan! Wala’ng pinag-iba sa ‘Accredited Partner’ scheme nu’ng kabila’ng selda, teritoryo, naman, nila. Which begs the question & we might as well go there habang mainit ang kasalukuyan’g ‘klima’, HOW CAN KF GET ANOTHER SHOT AT MU?
(Well, maybe they can consult with the New Ownership of MU to liberalize the playing field in the various Nationals… But, surely Mdme. Anne in her wisdom already is aware.)
@SQ, I appreciate your points. While I am happy that our homegrown pageant ME has a very relevant advocacy, its track record as an agent for meaningful action in the area of climate change is still very much below expectations. This has always been the theme of my past comments. ME has all the opportunities to go big time– up there at the UN level, with the world’s top research agencies, universities and foundations, with the big-name brands that are now hitched to the organic, natural and clean bandwagon– yet it has not gone beyond tree planting events, reduce-reuse-recycle initiatives. It seems contented with a show where country reps in glittering gowns sashay their way to the altar of Mother Nature.
That’s why at one point I asked Sir Norman if the ME organizers are reading comments in this blog. I’m proud of ME for having adopted an advocacy that addresses an existential threat to humanity. But I wish it takes advantage of the huge opportunities staring at it in the face, before other mushrooming pageant clones upend them in the same advocacy arena.
@SQ, your last question may better be answered by others in this blog. My take on pageantry has always been the business side, with advocacy as the financial lifeline. If ever I sporadically support a candidate, it is due to her fit to the requirements of the role as a spokesperson of the pageant’s advocacy. Still, the support is not a hard drive, because I personally do not find it right to pit a beautiful lady against another. There has only been one MGI candidate that I silently supported, Abeena Apiah of USA/Ghaha, going against the hype on our very own SamBer. I was glad she won, except that I felt that her potentials as a spokesperson was not fully utilized during her reign.
Hala , jumujubis na si Roberta !!! Gurrlll watch out your diet ! Ayaw ni Anne Cole ng Majubis, baka ma dethroned ka as the 5th of 5 , 5th Runner-Up!!!
Nakakaawa na tong pageant na to. It’s reeking with desperation.
Soon enough it will die of natural causes lol
Sana tinodo na nila by visiting Tondo, where life is very poor and sad 😅
BLIND ITEM: May isang mall sa Makati na nilangaw daw kanina dahil sa isang event na sobrang baho ang dating dito sa Pilipinas.
‘Yung isang beauty queen na sinuportahan ng mga pageant fans at nakiisa sa kanyang dalamhati, pero subalit ngunit datapwat mas piniling magpagamit sa baklang kanal na owner ng circus, ay isinusuka ngayon ng mga faney. Lalong nagalit sa kanya kanina ang mga faney nang nag-attitude ang beauty queen sa isang fan na wari n’ya ay binastos s’ya, kaya sinabihan n’ya ng “lumayas ka dito!” Banta ng mga faney — “hinding-hindi ka na makakatanggap ng suporta sa amin kapag lumaban ka ulit sa national. Last mo na ‘yan!” Kahit ako, iritable na rin sa babaitang ito.
Anyway, excited na ako sa Miss Earth. May announcement na ba kung sinu-sino ang mga judgest sa coronation night? Wish ng mga pageant fans na bumawi sa production ang Miss Earth bilang pride na rin natin na ito ang ating homegrown pageant. Kasi nga naman, hinamak-hamak na tayo ng mga pa-production ng mga pageant ng syopitbalur.
That’s all.
It will be interesting how ME will tackle that ‘production’ considering they’ll probably have the Finale in the daytime. In the words of one of the bosses, “… lessen our carbon footprint”.
Swim will be straightforward enough if the sun will blaze in all its glory. But the ‘evening’ dress/gown, how? Maybe they’ll innovate with creations more suited for day?…
(Just for some perspective, one of the Supra finale – can’t recall if it was the Miss or Mister – in 2021 was done in the afternoon. They were inside an open-air stadium but as it was Summer (August, right?), the general lighting looked diffused so that the LED onstage wouldn’t be washed out.)
Why does Roberta look so haggard? And that black leather dress is not at all flattering on her.