I reviewed my favorite interviews three times (reason why I lost some sleep doing so), and double-checked on one or two I might have overlooked. And this is what I came up with.
normannorman.com Pageantry Norms’ Top 15 for the Miss Universe Philippines Preliminary Q&A:
1. Bella Ysmael of Parañaque
2. Michele Gumabao of Quezon City
3. Billie Hakenson of Cavite
4. Pauline Amelinckx of Bohol
5. Adee Hitomi Akiyama of Oriental Mindoro
6. Zandra Nicole Sta Maria of Pasay
7. Jan Alexis Elcano of Batanes
8. Maricres Valdez Castro of Muntinlupa
9. Caroline Veronilla of Misamis Oriental
10. Skelly Ivy Florida of Biliran
11. Alaiza Malinao of Davao City
12. Rabiya Mateo of Iloilo City
13. Niña Soriano of Pangasinan
14. Tracy Maureen Perez of Cebu City
15. Christelle Abello of Aklan
Batch 3 of the Miss Universe Philippines candidates is the biggest so far with thirteen (13) doing their Preliminary Q&A. And I would say that this is the most predominantly relaxed group so far.
When an interviewee is relaxed, the words come out more fluidly. And because of that, I selected four (4) favorites here:
1) Adee Hitomi Ariate Akiyama of Oriental Mindoro – while she may tend to talk fast, her thoughts still come out clear and convincing. This Doctor of Medicine really knows her stuff – and not only those allied to her profession.
2) Maricres Valdez Castro of Muntilupa – she is so inspirational-sounding that you can’t help but be lulled by her voice – not to sleep but to actually listen to her suggestions and life learnings.
3) Caroline Veronilla of Misamis Oriental – she shows unabashed pride not only for her Province but also for Mindanao. She has a forceful but disarming grace about her. And that allowed a very pleasant interaction with the questioning panel.
4) Patricia Pineda Santos of Pampanga – this Flight Attendant is cool, calm and collected in her thoughts. She knows when to step on the breaks and when to go full speed ahead.
Kudos to the nine other ladies for overcoming your nerves, especially Alexandra Abdon of Manila who gave the most chill vibe to the judges so far.
4th Batch
So many good interviews in the 4th and Final installment of the Miss Universe Philippines Preliminary Q&A. It seems that all eleven ladies knew how tired the panel was. As such, they really made the conscious effort to revive their tired minds and make conversations that will make them smile.
My Top 5 – and I am putting my first two in the same breath just because they really delivered on their frontrunner status – are:
1) Bella Ysmael and Michele Gumabao – one is serenely charismatic while the other is diplomatically engaging. Their speaking styles are entirely different but the substance of their answers are laid out so clearly – even visually if you really try to imagine the words coming out of their lips.
3) Zandra Nicole Sta Maria – she is practical and persuasive in a big-sister kind of way. Her responses are easy to digest.
4) Sandra Lemonon – her frequent laughters bring joy to a room of low-batt interviewers. This is the lemon we all thought of as unable to turn into a lemonade. But she is now flavorful and magnetic.
5) Niña Soriano – her sincerity overflows, and you can tell that she goes beyond lip service. So when she answers, the consistency in her beliefs are coming from the right place.
Kudos to Riana Agatha Pangindian, Faye Dominique Deveza, Ericka Evangelista, Maria Fee Tajaran, Carissa Rozil Manasan Quiza and Perlyn Yamuta Cayona for also handling themselves in front of the panel very well.
So time now to tally all my scores so I can figure out my Top 15 from among all of the #phenomenalwomen.
As a pageant blogger, I’m supposed to come up with my new hot picks for Miss Universe Philippines 2020 by now. But I am still sticking to a good number of these #PhenomenalWomen because each one of them deserve to be seen and heard. The efforts they give in sustaining visibility in social media and other digital platforms – along with the APs and glam teams – are commendable.
So let me present my running Top 25 favorites – or the upper half of the 50 Official Candidates.
Please support each one of them in the competition’s #RingLightSeries.
When majority of the “Beyond the Coastlines” videos of the Miss Universe Philippines 2020 candidates were uploaded at the beginning of the quarantine period and during, there were still some whose outputs did not make it on time for the scheduled editing and posting.
Here are more of their outputs:
Don’t forget to watch Pasay entirely! It is the most creatively engaging among them.
Miss Universe Philippines 2020 candidate Zandra Nicole Sta. Maria of Pasay City is one of the towering ladies in the competition at nearly six feet tall. That comes with some advantage. Add to that her vibrantly cheerful personality and modelesque looks and a deserving aspirant comes into full view.
This Flight Attendant’s advocacy is all about Sustainable Living through Zero Waste Awareness.
Zero Waste Living is an advocacy that focuses on the reduction of waste, purchase and consumption and making better choices, hence minimizing the negative environmental impact it will create to our world.
Why did Zandra choose this cause?
“When 2020 came in, I’ve seen a lot of environmental crisis happening – from the volcanic eruption, bushfires, earthquakes in Mindanao and this pandemic. I was saddened that the world is changing and we are not doing much as an individual. I realized that I could help prevent such catastrophes from happening and educate other people to become individuals who fight against climate change by starting within themselves through zero waste living.
Practicing zero waste can be frustrating because sometimes we tend to forget our reusables, it’s time consuming and sometimes it’s expensive specially in the beginning.
These are the challenges of practicing this lifestyle but when you’ve come to realize that in the end when people are less sick and there is no threat of heatwaves and climate change or a pandemic. The sacrifices made are beneficial for everyone and for the future.”
Zandra’s advocacy has 3 favors for everyone existing in our world.
1. Be conscious of your choices, if it adds up to the landfill, think thrice.
2. Bring your own bags, and reusables everytime.
3. Educate others that our everyday choices affects our environment directly or indirectly.
Some of these are practices that most everyone are already doing. She hopes that people will continue to make the conscious effort to think twice about their choices.
“I believe this is essential because we are phenomenal women who bring hope and look forward to a more sustainable new normal for everyone not just today but also for our tomorrow.”
Quarantine Blues
“I’ve tried a lot of things during the quarantine period. Out of boredom I’ve come up with creating my own song to empower people during this pandemic. The title of the song was ‘Simula Na’ which tackles about the little help everyone is giving during this time and how we are fighting as one community against this virus.
I also feel that my TLE teacher back in gradeschool will be so proud of me because me and my sister made a seatcover, iron board cover and face masks out of scrap fabrics and my mom’s old bedsheet. It feels good to restructure old things and give it a new life. My mom was very proud of me too when she saw everything we’ve sewn.
Me and my batchmates from SSAM also spearheaded a donation drive to provide PPEs to 6 hospitals and 2 health care facilities. It feels good to be able to help them. Their responses were heartwarming because the hospitals even told us that they would pay it forward, that the PPEs are the precious things in their lives now and because of those people who are helping they uttered ‘Lumalakas ang loob namin dahil sainyo’ These words are what keeps us going to continue helping other people.”
Zandra also volunteered for a rescue flight to Australia to bring home our Kababayans to their families. She was asked about the difference of sweeper flights from the usual ones. And this was her answer.
“The ‘Thank yous’ I receive every flight was something I’m truly grateful for because I know they had a very smooth journey, felt comfortable and safe. The ‘Thank you’ that I receive from the rescue flight felt like an honour and privilege to fly people back home. I’m glad PAL can be of service to people and it felt so rewarding to be able to help during these troubled times.”
Hi! Norman here. When I'm not working, I spend most of my free time planning on daily blogs. If you will notice, I always make sure that a fresh topic comes out everyday - not an easy thing to do but it's all good. Thanks for dropping by and enjoy the visit!
"By viewing this blog, the viewer acknowledges that s/he has read and agrees to the terms of this disclaimer and assumes total responsibility and risk for his/her use of this blog. The content of this blog is published as an information service only and is presented “as is.” Please recognize that the information is general in nature and does not constitute and is not intended to be viewed as expert, legal or professional advice.
It confers no warranties, rights or merchantibility and makes no representations as to its accuracy, completeness or validity. In addition, those opinions expressed by readers and third parties who have elected to post their comments and opinions are theirs alone and do not reflect the opinions of the author who is not responsible for the accuracy of any of the information supplied by such readers and/or third parties.
The author of this blog is not liable for any errors, omissions, delays, losses, injuries or damages -- be it direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, special, punitive, or other -- arising from its display or use.
The author of this blog is also not responsible for the content of, accuracy of, or opinions expressed in third party sites to which this blog links. "
I reviewed my favorite interviews three times (reason why I lost some sleep doing so), and double-checked on one or two I might have overlooked. And this is what I came up with. 
Miss Universe Philippines 2020 candidate Zandra Nicole Sta. Maria of Pasay City is one of the towering ladies in the competition at nearly six feet tall. That comes with some advantage. Add to that her vibrantly cheerful personality and modelesque looks and a deserving aspirant comes into full view. 
“I’ve tried a lot of things during the quarantine period. Out of boredom I’ve come up with creating my own song to empower people during this pandemic. The title of the song was ‘Simula Na’ which tackles about the little help everyone is giving during this time and how we are fighting as one community against this virus.
Zandra also volunteered for a rescue flight to Australia to bring home our Kababayans to their families. She was asked about the difference of sweeper flights from the usual ones. And this was her answer. 
normannorman.com 