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.