Watch the video below of the Bb. Pilipinas 2012 winners being interviewed by host Ginger Conejero of ANC Mornings.
courtesy of ANCalerts
What do you think? š
4 Bb. Pilipinas 2012 Blog Bites
Know more about this year’s Bb. Pilipinas!
Miss Universe Philippines 2012 Janine Tugonon from the lens of Raymond Saldana.
Take a good look at the picture above. Photographer Raymond Saldana captured the best of Janine Tugonon just before she won the top crown. And it is mid-April more or less. Give her 200 days from this date and our representative to Miss Universe 2012 will be presenting a more fit and more battle-ready figure.
courtesy of OPMBvids
Janine, while she may not be the most preferred winner of Bb. Pilipinas 2012, will face the challenge of getting herself in tiptop shape on all important areas of international competition. BPCI will take over her training from handlers at Aces & Queens. And the previous winners will surely be on hand to help in her re-molding, Shamcey most especially.
Let’s see what transformations will happen by late October (if Miss U is scheduled by December) or late August (if the rumored October holding of the same happens). š
Australian DJ and Model Callum David (click on the image above to check out his website)
Callum David, aka 'DJ Vinimal'
Aussie Callum David has been doing several DJ-ing gigs in the country (right now, he does it at Tim Yap’s Prive’) for close to a year now. He is also a print model, and the more popular one locally is for Penshoppe.
If you want to check out his life as DJ Vinimal, plus updates on his upcoming skeds, click HERE.
Our 2012 Queens (L-R) Nicole Schmitz, Bb. Pilipinas-International; Janine Mari Tugonon, Miss Universe Philippines and Katrina Dimaranan, Bb. Pilipinas-Tourism (Photo credit: Bruce Casanova for BPCI)
Finally, the winners of Bb. Pilipinas 2012 have been crowned. Are you happy with the results? Before I make my conclusion on the same, allow me to analyze how or why these ladies landed the honors they are now celebrating in Cloud 9 with.
JANINE MARI TUGONON - MISS UNIVERSE PHILIPPINES 2012
My unsolicited advice for her? Lose the stiff/monotonous delivery of reply during the Q&A. It’s best to show grace under pressure without losing the much-needed warmth and sincere spontaneity. Last night, her interview paled in comparison to how she did in 2011, while wearing a gown that looked more tacky than regal (it’s like a throw pillow was sewn on her chest). Nonetheless, I trust that she will be made over in all areas, this one included.
NICOLE SCHMITZ - BB. PILIPINAS-INTERNATIONAL 2012
KATRINA DIMARANAN - BB. PILIPINAS-TOURISM
ELAINE KAY MOLL - First Runner-Up
ANNALIE FORBES - 2nd Runner-Up
Okay, so second chances proved to be golden for both Janine Tugonon (who’s my alternate for BPU being 1st Runner-Up in my own forecast) and Nicole Schmitz (who has been my pick and that of the majority for BPI), plus Katrina Dimaranan is first-time lucky. So am I happy with the trio? Yes, I am. Maybe not 100% happy, but still, they are all in my Top 5. No need to harbor ill feelings over the outcome anymore.
Sidenotes:
– I am sad for Mary Jean Lastimosa whose re-joining attempt failed and worse, did not even place in the Top 5. She even fell below her placement last year. She was very good last night. But her Q&A was bordering on the vague (the word ‘curiosity’ keeps flying back and forth in my head) and superficially impressive. It was probably a case of overload or she was way too rehearsed/exacting in her moves, projection and interview.
– When #26 Angelee delos Reyes won Best in Evening Gown, I knew she was a shoo-in for Top 12. She was supposed to be a stand-out in the Q&A (and could have made it as runner-up), but made a tad of a mess when she spoke too much. Even the judge (H.E. Harry Thomas, Jr.) joked that she answered the question even before it can be asked. In the end, her good reply was invalidated by wordiness.
– Pre-finals favorite Patricia Lae Ejercitado was good last night. But good just doesn’t cut it.
– Top 12 placer Sherlyn Gonzales had the best face of the night. She was just drop-dead beautiful. And her Q&A wasn’t bad. Her height must’ve been an obstacle, though. But Annalie Forbes made it to 5th place. What gives? Probably the lack of titles or runner-up ranks to give out? I think not. Annalie was really excellent in SS and EG.
– Roxane Joy Jesalva, was completely lackluster last night. Maybe she gave up on the competition too early? Her swimsuit and evening gown takes were very uninspired. Too bad, that costed her a Top 12 spot at the very least when she could’ve prevented a shutout for the Bicolandia reps this year.
– About the pageant itself, I would give it a grade of 9/10. ABS-CBN did not leave any stone unturned, so to speak. The production values were high. So where did they miss the single point to score a perfect 10? One is male host Xian Lim who was very dependent on his cue cards. Good thing Iza Calzado kept him on his toes. During the Q&A, however, he did not study the names of the judges which he kept on mangling to my ears’ disgust. And the poor lad doesn’t know that ‘H.E.’ in front of a person’s name means “His Excellency”. Venus Raj had minor lapses, but she was at least quick in correcting herself. The other complaint I have was during the evening gown competition where rockers Arnel Pineda and Bamboo sang separately for the first and second group of ladies. Because production had no control over the speed that the ladies negotiated the stage, they had to unceremoniously cut off the two singers even if they were still in the middle of their 3rd songs since everyone was already finished presenting onstage. A slow fade out would have been better.
– Lastly, did you notice that Janine was wearing the sash “Miss Universe Philippines” instead of “Bb. Pilipinas-Universe”? Must be a directive from MUO.
So this is the part where I remind people…”let’s move on and support the winners” – which is the right thing to do. Their respective pageants are still scheduled for the 3rd and 4th quarters of 2012 so the wait will give them the precious time to prepare hard for the same. And I believe that we shall see much improved versions of Janine, Nicole, Katrina, Elaine and Annalie by then. š
WINNERS ALL (L-R) Annalie Forbes, 2nd RU; Nicole Schmitz, Bb. Pilipinas International; Janine Tugonon, Bb. Pilipinas Universe; Katrina Dimaranan, Bb. Pilipinas Tourism and Elaine Kay Moll, 1st RU (Photo credit: Jory Rivera/OPMB Worldwide)
After the dust settled last night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, only three ladies could call themselves brand-new Beauty Queens from a strong field of 30 contenders for Bb. Pilipinas 2012. The whole process wasn’t the easiest and I tip my hat to the ones who soared (and scored) high and are now looking forward to life-changing journeys to more success in the global pageant arena. Here’s the Official Honor Roll:
2012 Bb. Pilipinas Universe Janine Tugonon (Photo credit: Jory Rivera)
Bb. Pilipinas-Universe 2012: #18 JANINE TUGONON
Bb. Pilipinas-International 2012: #8 NICOLE SCHMITZ
Bb. Pilipinas-Tourism 2012: #13 KATRINA DIMARANAN
..with their court:
First Runner-Up: #15 ELAINE KAY MOLL
Second Runner-Up: #29 ANNALIE FORBES
…and the remaining placers in the Top 12:
# 1 Karen Gallman
# 30 Sherlyn Gonzales
# 16 Liezl Alcantara
# 26 Angelee Claudett delos Reyes
# 9 Mary Jean Lastimosa
# 14 Gina Joy Howell
# 7 Patricia Lae Ejercitado
Special Awards:
Best in Swimsuit: #8 Nicole Schmitz
Best in Evening Gown: #26 Angelee Claudett delis Reyes
Best in National Costume: #8 Nicole Schmitz
Miss Photogenic: #1 Karen Gallman
Miss Talent: #13 Katrina Dimaranan
Miss Congeniality: #25 Chloe Zanardi
Miss Philippine Airlines: #9 Mary Jean Lastimosa
Miss Avon: #9 Mary Jean Lastimosa
Miss Manila Bulletin Readers’ Choice: #20 Roxanne Tadique
People’s Choice: #21 Giselle Angelica Munoz
The 3-hour program – hosted by actress Iza Calzado, upcoming matinee idol Xian Lim, 2010 Miss Universe 4th Runner-Up Venus Raj and commercial model/cable presenter Georgina Wilson – saw each of the ladies going through the traditional swimsuit and evening gown competitions before the cut to the Top 12 went underway. After the dozen finalists were announced, they were subjected to the Q&A round which gave the Board of Judges a better perception of their individual dispositions and/or quick-wittedness. From here, the winners were announced with no further trimming down to a Top 5 anymore, thereby lending more suspense to the proceedings.
The winners will now start preparing for their respective dates of international representation: Miss Universe 2012 on December (exact date and venue still unannounced), Miss International 2012 (China) on November 11, Miss Tourism Queen International (China) on September 28 and for one of the runners-up, the Miss Supranational 2012 (Poland) on September 15.
Big Congratulations to all the Winners! š
(Photo credit: Jory Rivera/ OPMB Worldwide)
The 30 Official Candidates of Bb. Pilipinas 2012 in Jag Apparel
The ladies who will remain cool, calm and collected all throughout the 3-hour telecast
The ladies who will exude charm so unique that they will leave the judges’ mouth wide open while gliding to centerstage
The ladies who will not experience mental block during the Q&A and give replies that may be short, but sweet and worth remembering
The ladies who will show strong potentials to follow through the momentum built by Venus Raj and Shamcey Supsup. You know what people say? Third-time lucky.
At this point, allow me to say a prayer I personally composed just for tonight’s beauty extravaganza….
Dear God,
May all the 30 Official Candidates of Bb. Pilipinas 2012 effortlessly shine tonight.
May the fated finalists shine better.
And may the truly deserving ones shine best.
May nobody lose their footing or blocking while doing the opening production number.
May nobody slip or fall on the stage while negotiating a 360-degree turn in platform heels, swimsuits and long gowns.
May nobody give incoherent/embarrasing answers during the Question & Answer portion.
May the non-fluent in English be brave enough to express herself in Tagalog to put the message across with wit and clarity.
May the proclaimed winners be the most humble.
And may the disappointed losers graciously accept their defeat.
And in the coming months, may our new beauty queens gift the Philippines with its 3rd Miss Universe crown or its 5th Miss International win or its 2nd Miss Tourism Queen International victory or hopefully, its 1st Miss Supranational sash or better yet, all of the above.
Amen.
2011 Bb. Pilipinas-Universe and 2011 Miss Universe 3rd Runner-Up Shamcey Supsup: Philippine Pride
Shamcey's journey in quick pics (L-R) Her crowning as Bb. Pilipinas-Universe; Showing her elegance onstage in Sao Paulo; Glam posing for Fadil Berisha; Making it to the Top 5 of Miss Universe 2011 and finishing 3rd Runner-Up (Photo credits: OPMB Worldwide, FotoArena.com and MUO/Fadil Berisha)
Shamcey (R) with boyfriend Lloyd Lee during their trip to Belgium.
The two Filipinas who re-started it all: Shamcey and Venus (R)
With these thoughts, I would like to reiterate my heartfelt thanks for bringing the best of the Pinay to the Universe and coming back with success. God Bless, Architect Supsup! š
My Bb. Pilipinas 2012 Popularity Poll is now closed. I am posting the final results to acknowledge the efforts of those who supported their bets since February 17.
From a total of 9,083 votes casted, the 10 Most Popular Vote-Getters (in this order) are:
#24 Fer Mary Baliquig - 1,332 votes
#9 Mary Jean Lastimosa - 1,023 votes
#11 Marie Virginia Peter - 902 votes
#26 Angelee Claudett delos Reyes - 789 votes
#10 Jillean Camille Orbina - 708 votes
#27 Golda Mae Soller - 625 votes
#23 Goldy Baroa - 569 votes
#28 Marie Irisha Arcenas - 413 votes
#7 Patricia Lae Ejercitado - 380 votes
#8 Nicole Schmitz - 345 votes
I would like to thank everyone who participated in my poll. The results are definitely non-bearing, but it’s not purely for fun either. It shows who among the candidates have drawn the most number of votes from their respective fans and supporters, hence, giving us some ideas on how popular they are in this blog.
Again, Maraming Salamat sa lahat ng sumali. š
Before anything else, can I just say that never in my decades of pageant following have I experienced a more zealous, a more polarized, a more fanatical, a more ‘combative’ and a more vocal year in terms of Bb. Pilipinas excitement and anticipation.
When I posted my forecast for Bb. Pilipinas 2012 last Tuesday morning, I never expected readers to agree 100% (not even 75%) with my choices. Through the years, I have learned to hold my own in judging beauty contests. There may be years when almost everyone sings praises in unison for one candidate who takes it all the way, but that doesn’t happen all the time. Take for example the current edition. Nobody can say with certainty as to who will eventually take the Bb. Pilipinas-Universe title because at least half of the contenders have either significantly bloomed or went full steam ahead with their game plan that it would be foolish to dismiss one over the other in an instant.
As an independent Pageant Blogger, I opted to zero in on specific ladies who meet my personal standards. This doesn’t mean, however, that those left out in the list are already sure losers in my opinion. The whole thing is a competition. Whatever will transpire on coronation night is something hard to express in advance. A surprise or two will most likely spring out of nowhere. Placements will be possibly questioned. A couple of Q&A performances might be laughed at. Bottomline is this: let’s be brave enough to share & defend our selections, but respect (or at least be civil with) the shortlist of the next individual if it doesn’t meet our own.
As strong runners-up in 2011, do you think MJ and Janine are guaranteed for the Top 2 titles? What say you?
And while we’re at it, let me just add one more thought. If I chose to be ‘heavily influenced’ with my predictions, then I might have been forced to come up with a separate list of candidates who will win based on a string of extraneous variables. For example, if both Janine Tugonon and Mary Jean Lastimosa were fully supported by BPCI to resign from their respective runner-up positions last year and re-join right after, then it is not remotely impossible to expect both ladies to be “rewarded” with the top titles. They’ve already paid their dues, proven their loyalty (and compliance) to the pageant and trained hard with the outgoing titleholders. What better way to give back than to have them realize the dream that was almost within their reach in 2011. But do I really know BPCI well enough to assume the same scenario happening for a second consecutive year and with two runners-up gunning for glory instead of just one? No. I have so much respect for SMA and the organization to even doubt their integrity in validating the final results handed in by the Board of Judges. If either MJ or Janine or both get to be declared beauty queens, then I trust that it was a decision reached democratically if not unanimously. And since luck will also be in play, I’d love to see which ladies will be smiled upon by good fortune on this upcoming life-changing Sunday night.
I stand by my choices. If I am putting my reputation at stake here, then at least I’m being gutsy. Maturity has taught me not to feel sorely bad or inconsolably depressed if all or part of my predictions get flushed down the drain after actual winners have been announced. Life goes on. And I will support whoever gets to represent us abroad. The victors will be wearing the Philippine sash after all.
P.S. to my P.S. Pardon If I sounded melodramatic above. You just read a passing episode of ‘The Angina Monologues’ š
After the extended Holy Week break, I am finally ready to reveal my predictions for Bb. Pilipinas 2012. The Primer last Sunday night helped a lot in my assessment of the ladies. I graded them using three (3) categories: Beauty of Face (with a maximum score of 40 points), Beauty of Figure (with a maximum score of 40 points) and Personality (with a maximum score of 20 points) for a total of 100.
This is how my spreadsheet looked like after I scored all 30 Bb. Pilipinas 2012 Official Candidates in three areas:
Karen Gallman topped Face, Mary Jean Lastimosa aced Figure and Katrina Dimaranan was highest in Personality. After adding up all the numbers, I am happy that almost all my favorites made it. What amused me was #28 Marie Irisha Arcenas claiming the final spot in a tie with Elaine Kay Moll. But then again, gut-feel tells me that this Cebuana will make the cut. The seven-highest scoring candidates are so close to one another that – up to now – it could be anybody’s ballgame.
So based on the totals above, I was able to come up with my Top 12 ladies, ranked from highest to lowest (with assigned numbers used for order purposes in case of a tie), as follows:
My Top 12: (Top row L-R) Nicole Schmitz, Karen Gallman, Mary Jean Lastimosa Katrina Dimaranan; (Middle row L-R) Ma. Alicia Elena Ariosa, Patricia Lae Ejercitado, Janine Tugonon, Roxane Joy Jesalva; (Bottom row L-R) Sherlyn Gonzales, Jaine Hidalgo, Elaine Kay Moll, Marie Irisha Arcenas.
92 Nicole Schmitz (8)
91 Karen Gallman (1) tie
91 Mary Jean Lastimosa (9) tie
91 Katrina Dimaranan (13) tie
90 Ma. Alicia Elena Ariosa (6) tie
90 Patricia Lae Ejercitado (7) tie
90 Janine Tugonon (18) tie
88 Roxane Joy Jesalva (19)
88 Sherlyn Gonzales (30)
87 Jaine Hidalgo (4)
86 Elaine Kay Moll (15)
86 Marie Irisha Arcenas (28)
From the dozen ladies who made my first cut, I am now applying one more factor – ‘Personal Whim’ – that should cover my preferences among the ones who scored a total of 90 and above. Due to the very close race, this ‘Personal Whim’ is in the form of stars that I will award to the girls who I strongly deem are most appropriate for each of the four (4) international competitions where the winners will be fielded in – Miss Universe, Miss International, Miss Tourism Queen International and Miss Supranational.
Seven contenders are graded 90 and above. And I am now giving my Personal Whim stars to the following:
Four stars to Katrina Dimaranan as I see her the best bet for Miss Universe 2012 which may just be scheduled in Las Vegas in December. This 18 year-old is easily the most malleable in terms of training and can have her body shaped to everyone’s liking in due time. Her superb fluency in English adds great icing on the cake so to speak. And to top it all, she has this unique face that exudes exotic features hard to forget.
Three stars to Nicole Schmitz because she is a perfect fit for Miss International 2012 to be held in China. At 24, this Fil-German stunner has all the qualities that will definitely be pedestalled by the organizers. With her beautiful face, easy vibe and competitive spirit combined, there is no way she won’t top the Asians right away. From there, she can target the rest of the competition and do better than all her local predecessors, possibly gun for the achievement of Precious Lara Quigaman in the process.
Two stars to Karen Gallman since this beauty is just right for Miss Tourism Queen International 2012 to be hosted once more by China. In a way, I surprised myself upon seeing her ranking high after tallying the scores. But it was such a pleasant surprise. Just like Nicole Schmitz, this doll-faced 19 year-old can survive the onslaught of competition in China. Petite height notwithstanding, she can breeze through the heart of the locals and charm everyone with what she does best – being herself!
And one star to Mary Jean Lastimosa who I can visualize as tailor-made for Miss Supranational 2012 in Poland. This one’s a no-brainer. MJ is, quite simply, the best candidate to be sent to Central Europe. She will definitely create a stir with her va-va-voom body as well as effortlessly stand out among the Caucasian blondes and Latina brunettes. Some camps may be disappointed that I placed her in this slot instead of Miss Universe. But I firmly believe that she will be in her best elements in Supra. Besides, wouldn’t it be just as fulfilling to be the first Bb. Pilipinas-Supranational and – fingers-crossed – the first Filipina Miss Supranational?
Janine Tugonon is my choice as 1st Runner-Up – matching her finish last year, but with the strong possibility of representing us in a fifth international competition (Globe or Maja maybe?) that has also been rumored to be a fresh announcement during the finals.
Lastly, Patricia Lae Ejercitado is my 2nd Runner-Up to complete the Magic 6. She can also be considered for one of the second-tier pageants abroad where she can compete with confidence.
So there. After weeks upon weeks of observing, analyzing and listening to the girls, I’m glad my armchair-judging is now complete.
Time to hear yours! š
normannorman.com 