Predictions: Miss Philippines Earth 2016 pageant

Note: The story below first appeared on pageant writer Norman Tinio’s blog. It is republished here, with his permission.

This coming Saturday night at the UP Theater in Diliman, the winners of Miss Philippines Earth 2016 will be crowned. And having reviewed the performances of each of the 47 candidates, I applied my personal gut feel to evaluate each one of them. By now, the real front-runners have emerged, and it will take a combination of good luck and an excellent Q&A performance to finally nail the #1 spot and become the national successor of Miss Earth 2015 Angelia Ong. 

Allow me to share my Top 16:

• Kiara Giel Gregorio of London
• Imelda Schweighart of Puerto Princesa City
• Melanie Mader of Austria
• Fatima Alsowyed of Dumaguete City
• Shannon Bridgman of Rosales, Pangasinan
• Ellyz Santos of Laoang, Northern Samar
• Loren Mar Artajos of Laoag City
• Jessica Zevenbergen of Murcia, Negros Occ.
• Korina Christiene Reyes of City of San Fernando
• Niña Sherra Tagalog of Palo, Leyte
• Athena Catriz of City of San Pedro
• Krissandra Marie Abel of Lobo, Batangas
• Anna Mae Cagurangan of Piat, Cagayan
• Liza Cacho of Anda, Pangasinan
• Vallerie Joy Jereza of Bacolod City
• Bellatrix Tan of Zamboanga City

 

My top 10 for Miss Philippines Earth 2016 

Truthfully, the upper tier of my Top 10 could already be a foregone conclusion in the sense that I can already tell who would be locks for the all-important placements. Keep in mind that the lower tier during the actual finals are already assured of runner-up positions. Hence, 5 winners and 5 runners-up. 

My five runners-up could be:

• Shannon Bridgman
• Loren Mar Artajos
• Korina Christiene Reyes
• Niña Sherra Tagalog
• Krissandra Marie Abel

Some of you might wonder why Ellyz Santos of Laoang suddenly jumped to the upper 5 and may possibly do better than a runner-up ranking. I just feel that she has a special quality in her that could be looked at by the judges and organizers as advantageous for a more long-term elemental affiliation. 

My potential Top 5 for Miss Philippines Earth 2016 with placements 

While the battle for the crown is fierce between Kiara Giel Gregorio of London and Imelda Schweighart of Puerto Princesa City, I am strongly leaning on the former taking the spot after the announcement of winners.

Kiara ticks all the required boxes in my opinion. I can see her as the next-in-line for Angelia Ong, but with a soft British accent for a change. She has also the charisma to win people over, on top of showing an all-around pleasant personality and an articulate self.

But I’m not closing my doors on an Imelda Schweighart win yet. She could also get the nod of the decision-makers in the end. She is gorgeous and can express herself very well. I simply wanted to make a choice between the two.

As for the rest, I am giving Water to Melanie Mader, Fire to Fatima Alsowyed and Eco-Tourism to Ellyz Santos.

Regardless of the outcome on June 11, these ladies have made big strides in advocating for Mother Earth. And with the added upgrade to Climate Change Adaptation in their causes, Miss Philippines Earth has really become a most significant player in the national and international pageant scene.

All the best, Earth Warriors! – Rappler.com

Norman Tinio started blogging about pageants in 2009, but he had been a pageant enthusiast since the early ’70s. Apart from that, he is an industrial psychologist by profession, movie addict by nocturnal choice, and an ex-seminarian who can pray in Ancient Latin. You can find him and his daily musings at normannorman.com.