Everyone inside the Araneta Coliseum was abuzz with loud whispers the minute hosts Pia Wurtzbach and Xian Lim announced the names of the Bb. Pilipinas 2017 Top 25 last Sunday night where fifteen (15) Binibinis became the first casualties in the proceedings. Why wasn’t Binibini 24 Dindi Pajares called to step up? Why was she left in tears waiting for her name to be part of the first cut when it was all down to the last qualifier and Binibini 38 Ana Patricia Asturias was summoned instead? It’s as if something unimaginable happened. What went wrong?

Well, the list of 25 names was accurate. Dindi Pajares surprisingly did not make it far enough to even participate in the swimsuit and evening gown competitions. Was she the 26th in rank or worse? That is a question that will now remain unanswered.

Since Day 1, I know that the forty (40) Binibinis have been strictly observed and assessed by BPCI like a pool of teachers and advisers (or Prefects of Discipline if you will) grading them almost on a daily basis, or at least everytime they had to report for duty and fulfill their duties as Official Candidates. You can say that all of them began with perfect scores of 100 at the onset and it’s up to the ladies on how to keep the mark perfect or sacrifice deductions along the way. This could be inclusive of attendance, punctuality, deportment and overall conformity to the house rules and regulations. Having covered beauty pageants for the longest time, I know this to be a regular practice. While I’m not specifying or confirming on any irregularities in Dindi’s accord (or lack thereof) with what BPCI prescribed and demanded, I can see no other valid reason why she would fall short of pageant performance. She deserved to make Top 25 at the very least if the sole basis would be the public and social media judgment of the line-up this year. In fact, she could have easily breezed through Top 15 just like last year when she joined for the first time.

Whatever the hard truth is behind the snub of Dindi Pajares, I will stop from further investigating into the question because this is already something beyond the parameters of my media-related business with Bb. Pilipinas. And even if I reach clarity on the matter, it would have been shared to me in confidence. Off the record, I must add.

Watch the opening number and introduction of Bb. Pilipinas 2017 now – the first and last part where Dindi got her share of the spotlight during Sunday night’s TV telecast.

courtesy of Hot Picks