janine... not janina

Last night, i watched the first few contestants of Binibining Pilipinas parading in their swimsuit in Channel 2 but when I saw GMA7 running Jose and Wally’s Araneta concert, ay sori na lang kayo ladies.  Certified EB dabarkads ako kaya bahala na kayong mag-rambol sa mga crowns na pinapamigay ni Madam Stella.

Good thing Velvet did a rerun of the pageant tonight.  At dahil walang ibang magandang palabas, i get to see the whole program and find out why i’ve seen a couple of violent reactions from people who seem to be in discord with the results. 

Dahil nga alam ko na ang winners at narinig ko na rin ang mga comments, I didn’t bother to make my choices.  Kaya nakapag-concentrate ako sa mga ibang aspects nong program. As usual, let me dissect this thing na paborito kong gawin being the frustrated all-around critic that I am.

Production Values:  I like the stage.  Classy and glossy.  Hindi man fresh yong idea but the huge LED showing the number and name of the contestants was a big plus.  Overall, the look and feel of the program was contemporary at hindi tulad nong dati na parang masyadong stiff and boring.

Hindi ko lang ma-gets kung bakit may DJ sa gitna nong stage habang pumaparada ang mga contestants in their bikinis.  Kung sana naka-tank top man lang yong DJ, I’d get the feeling of a beach front setting to justify the bikinis.  Tipong Bora lang.  But the formally-clad DJ? Hmm...

Gusto ko ang camera works making a sweeping, circular motion as the contestants parade in their gowns.  It gives a 360-degree view of the stage, the contestant and the crowd in the gallery.  Nice work direk!

And since nasa evening gown na rin lang tayo, let me say that i found a few gowns unflattering to some contestants.  Particularly the first 3 contestants na nagmukhang losyang/nanay sa mga gown na sinuot nila.  And a few more scattered within the 30 gowns na ngayon ay hindi na binabanggit kung sino ang designers.  Sayang ang kaseksihan nila.  

Baka naman hindi lang talaga ako marunong sa mga gown-gown na yan.  But I’d stand by what I saw.  May ilang nagmukhang malapad. Yong iba nagmukhang nanay. At yong iba, plain and simple, losyang. End of argument.

Performers:  Still in the evening gown segment, I found Arnel’s mellow rock pieces incongruous to the elegance of the moment.  Sana hindi na lang sya ang pinag-perform doon.  Bamboo was spot on with his jazzy/rnb songs at bagay na bagay sa pagrampa nong mga contestant.  But Arnel?  Really? 

Nakaka-awa din sya dahil ilang songs din yon na dire-diretsong sya lang ang kumakanta.  Puro mahihirap pa kaya by the time contestant no. 9 was about to exit the frame, halos sumabit na sya sa bridge nong kanta.  By the time the last two contestants were on stage, it was obvious he was already chasing his breath. 

Hosts:  Kung si Arnel ay naghahabol ng hininga, si  Xian naman ay punong-puno ng oxygen ang lungs kaya nag-boses kwan.  He sounded so excited and high strung.  Parang naka-singhot ng helium.  Tatlong babae pa naman ang co-hosts nya kaya importante sanang mag-provide sya ng cool, soothing baritone voice being the only male host.  Kaso nakipag-compete sya sa nasal at boses kwan na si Georgina na bukod sa mukhang overly painted mannequin ay halatang-halata rin ang pagiging kabado.

Venus was good although there are times na nadala nya yong mga tono nya sa kanyang morning show.  But with the quality of her voice, ilang polishing lang at mapapanindigan na nya ang kanyang college degree.

Izza proved she was trained well in GMA dahil sya ang pinaka-cool, composed at flavourful sa mga hosts.  Her performance was not flawless pero itabi mo ba naman si Georgina or si Xian sa kanya, she shines like a diamond standing beside two lifeless puka shells.  

Judges :  My biggest HUHHHH? Moment of the night was Phil Younghusband being the chairman of the board of judges.  Talaga lang ha?  I thought Azkals was overrated.  But this guy heading the panel of prestigious judges?  That is WAYYYYY OVERRATED! Hayaan nyo munang manalo man lang kahit sa Asian Cup yang mga yan bago nyo sambahin, pwede? Pag foreign blood ba, idol na agad? Hindi ba pwedeng reality check muna?  Aysowsss!!! 

Precious Lara Quigaman, sitting as one of the judges on the merit of her being a previous winner, should have presented herself just that - a beauty queen.  Not the ‘matronic’ beauty I saw tonight.  Mas mukha pang beauty queen si Rep Risa Hontiveros sa kanya eh.  

And I like what Ms. Hontiveros did - encourage the contestant to answer in the language she is more comfortable with.  Wag nang mag-ingles kung hindi kaya.  Besides, makapag-ingles ka man, pipintasan pa rin ang grammar mo.  Lalo ang diction mo dahil hahanapan ka ng accent na hinding-hindi mo makukuha unless you stayed for sometime in a foreign country like the US.

And speaking of US, Ambassador Thomas sitting in the panel leaves some bad taste in my mouth.  After what he said about the sex tourism in the Phils, I wonder what he's thinking as half-naked Pinays parade right in front of him.  Still pondering on that controversial statement, Ambassador?   

Beauty: Let me start by saying that collectively, this year’s contestants are far better than previous years.  Mas marami ang magaganda at talagang pang-beauty pageant.  Unlike before na parang pinulot lang kung saan-saan ang mga kasali.  

Brains.  Marami rin ang matatalino.  The Q&A portion revealed most of the 12 semi-finalists having something between their ears.  Hindi tulad nong dati na may mango tree, banana tree, coconut tree pang nalalaman ang contestant! Natatawa talaga ako up until now pag naaalala ko yon. 

And yes, Janine man yong nanalo pero walang Janina San Miguel moment.  Although I found No 26 a bit obnoxious dahil ang haba na ng sinabi at halos nag-speech na eh hindi pa nabibigay ang question nya. Over excited?  Maybe.  But if that was a job interview, i'd tell her to shut the hell up, give back her cv and kick  her out of the door.  Intrimitida.

Among the final 12, pinaka-ridiculous ang sagot ng contestants 15 and 29. Ang nakakatawa, nag-place pa sila as 1^st and 2^nd runner up!  Hmm... ito siguro yong pino-protesta ng mga nabasa ko.

Yes, I’d agree with a few comments i read in FB na sayang si No. 9 dahil hindi pumwesto.  But the top 3 winners, if only based on their answers, deserve their titles.  

No 13 gave a sensible answer flavoured with an American twang she brandished so confidently.  Maganda rin ang sagot ni No 18 although hindi maganda ang ginawa nyang pagtalikod sa judge/audience immediately after she finished her answer.  Naitawid man nya ang sagot sa tanong but what she did is still screaming NERVES to the highest level. No. 8 gave the most impressive answer although I would credit that to her being a veteran dahil dati na syang sumasali dyan.

At mukha ngang night of the veterans yong contest dahil si 18 pala ay nag-first runner up kay Shamcey last year.  And maybe that’s where the uproar was coming from.  Oo nga naman, bakit pa kayo nagpa-contest kung ang kokoronahan nyo rin lang ay yong next in line last year.  Eh di gawin na lang succession!

The Challenge.  Ok.  So the pomp and pageantry is over.  Now the real work starts for these winners.  And by the way our representatives performed last year, napakalaking challenge ang haharapin ng mga contestant na ito.  No. 18 specifically dahil Shamcey’s tsunami walk and 3^rd runner up finish in Miss Universe is gonna be hard to top.  

Ano kayang kailangang gawin ni Miss Tugonon?  If I were to ask my friend Jay, siguradong ang sasabihin nya, “unahin nya munang pagsabayin ang mga mata nya, naghihiwalay kasi!” hahahaha... that's a bit harsh from someone who's always nice and sweet!!!