Gersbach, Manalo, Umali top Bb. Pilipinas Pageant

The Binibing Pilipinas Pageant 2009 crowned its top three beauty queens early Sunday, starting with 22-year-old Pamela Bianca Manalo as Bb. Pilipinas-Universe, followed by 23-year-old Melody Gersbach as Bb. Pilipinas-International and 22-year-old Marie-Ann Umali as Bb. Pilipinas-World.

Named before them were 26-year-old Regina Hahn as second runner-up and 20-year-old Richell Agalot as first runner-up.

The coronation was held at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, with the show starting late on Saturday. It was aired live over GMA channels nationwide with Paolo Bediones and Iza Calzado as hosts.

The winners were crowned by their respective predecessors – Patricia Fernandez (Bb. Pilipinas-International), Jennifer Barrientos (Bb. Pilipina- Universe), and Danielle Castaño (Bb. Pilipinas 2008).

Castaño replaced Janina San Miguel who resigned late last year after the death of her grandfather.

Winners' backgrounds

Manalo won several other awards – the Best in Swimsuit award, after which she also got a sponsor's honor, the Manila Bulletin Readers' Choice Award. Manalo, a 22-year-old native of Manila, is an Advertising graduate of the Assumption College who now works as a flight attendant.

Gersbach – who did not win any other award – was born in Germany, but her mother hails from the Bicol Region, where Gersbach manages the family restaurant in Albay. She is after all a graduate of the University of Asia and the Pacific with a degree in Management.

Earlier in the night, Umali also won the Best in Long Gown and Miss Photogenic plum. Umali, a native of Batangas City, took up Tourism at the College of Saint Benilde. She plans to be a flight attendant and dreams of putting up her own restaurant.

Runners-up

Shortly before Umali's award, Angalot was named as Miss Talent, for a dance that she performed a week earlier on Talent Night on Saturday. She was also won the awards for Miss Natasha Beauty and Araneta Center Shoppers' Choice – both coming from pageant sponsors.

Angalot, a native of Tagbilaran City, graduated with a Tourism degree from the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City. Under the stage name Rich Asuncion, she is one of the talents of GMA Network.

Hahn, a native of Manila and Computer Science graduate from the Ateneo de Manila University, works as an information consultant for an international company.

Candidate No. 4 Gizelle Jasmin Rivamonte was named as Miss Friendship, which carried the distinction of having been voted by the other candidates themselves. Rivamonte, a 23-year-old native of Quezon City, is a registered nurse working at the Oncology Unit of the Veterans Memorial Medical Center. She graduated from the Far Easten University.

There were 24 semifinalists, but Candidate No. 13, Sandra Inez Seifert, was disqualified a week before for having done a sexy pictorial that was published in a men's magazine.(gmanews.tv)

Miss World 1973 Runner Up Evangeline Pascual Competes Again?

Hi folks. I am very happy to be back after more than 2 months of hibernation. For those of you who have been following my blog, I apologize for not informing you prior about my absence in the world of blogging. I have been faced with problems lately and I am still trying to recover. So, I am asking your support by staying with me as I try to bring  you once more one of my most fun things to do -  writing.

That's enough as a segway to what I am going to write today. What is important is you know I have been busy with life and I never had plan of writing 30 here.

Well, I have been browsing the internet when I suddenly remembered the very famous Evangeline Pascual of the Philippines who almost won the 1973 Miss World crown. She ended up as a runner up to Marjorie Wallace of the United States of America.

That pageant was one of the most controversial of all the pageants in Miss World. It has been said that Misses Philippines and USA both garnered a tie scores after the finals and that the tie had to be broken. Miss USA was eventually proclaimed as the winner because of the presence of American judges who broke the tie. Later on, Wallace was fired but the crown was never offered to any of the runners up -  not even to the beautiful Evangeline Pascual.

There is an urban legend that after Wallace was dethroned, the crown was offered to Pascual but she begged off since she was becoming a popular actress back to her country at that time. The so-called refusal irked the Miss World founders and owners Eric and Julia Morley, husband and wife, who vowed to never ever crown any Filipinas in Miss World.

Since Evangeline was robbed of the title she deserved to have, is she back to the pageantry to avenge her loss? 

 

Wow, that's after 36 years!!! Yes, an Evangeline Pascual clone is about to conquer the elusive Miss World for the Philippines if this lady can conquer first the national pageant - the Binibining Pilipinas or Miss Philippines in English.

I can't help myself but to notice the strong resemblance of Evangeline to this girl who is also a television actress in the Philippines. The girl is Rich Asuncion in her screen name but Richell Angalot in real life. She is using her real name for the pageant.

Rich and Evangeline are like sisters. They both smile in the same way and their chin structures are the same. Both are also smart and intelligent.

Take a look at this video and see it for yourself. I am happy I found a video clip of the news in English.