In the years 2010 to 2019, the Philippines has produced some of the most memorable wins and placements in every international pageant of note. However, only a few of them has remained in our collective psyche’s over the years.
NOTE: before we proceed with the list, this blogger has to dig deep into our image archives for the old photocollages from the early 2010’s. So you will be seeing how our visuals have changed through the years. You will be seeing our old collages from the old Sash Factor blog with its white and blue imagery to the current black and gold. This blogger hopes that this will make you truly appreciative of how long have we come in pageantry…
Here is our list of the decade defining Filipinas in Philippine pageantry:
10. Mutya Johanna Datul, Miss Supranational 2013 – she was the queen from humble origins but one of the strongest walkers the Philippines has sent to any international pageant this decade. Her win in MS was well-deserved, and she became the first Asian to win the Polish-owned Miss Supranational. In an interview with Boy Abunda, fellow Binibining Pilipinas winner and Miss International 2013, Bea Rose Santiago, let it slip that Mutya’s cash prize as MS is much bigger than that of hers or even Ariella Arida’s Miss Universe 3rd runner up cash prize. It is said that Mutya has since then used the her winnings to buy a piece of land and build a house for her family.
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9. Mary Jean Lastimosa, Miss Universe 2014 top 10 finalist – before there ever were Catrionians and Pianatics, there was MJ Lastimosa’s pageant fans. She had the most fans accumulated during her 3 tries in Binibining Pilipinas and she had started the pageant fan phenomena on social media. MJ also reignited the trend of multiple tries in BBP, something that only Maricar Balagtas has done successfully before her. MJ’s runner up-semifinalist-MUP win was a pioneer feat that her successor Pia Wurtzbach did a year later. Her story of winning the Miss Universe Philippines will be the type of story that would keep on inspiring future beauty queens to always give it one more shot and never giving up their dreams.
8. Karen Ibasco, Miss Earth 2017 – the only multi-hyphenate in this list/ group with a Master’s Degree and a PhD. This physicist and part-time University of Santo Tomas lecturer is the most articulate/ well-spoken, academically intelligent, and possesses the best pageant resume among the Filipina Alpha pageant reps of this decade. Her background in the academe adds gravitas whenever she speaks to audiences about climate change and the importance of preserving the environment and the fragility of eco-systems. She is also a reminder that women can be both beautiful and smart, that it is not an either or situation.
7. Jamie Herrell, Miss Earth 2014 & Angelia Gabrena Ong, Miss Earth 2015 – the two tied for the seventh spot on our list! These two Filipinas scored the first ever back-to-back win in the Miss Earth pageant: Jamie winning in Quezon City, Philippines while Angelia scoring the second consecutive win in Vienna, Austria. The Cebuana beauty is one of the youngest in this list having won the Miss Earth crown at the age of 20. 25-year old Manileña beauty, Angelia Ong made the impossible, possible when a panel of mostly foreign judges selected her as winner. This is so far the only back-to-back win in the history of the ME pageant.
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6. Samantha Lo, Bb. Pilipinas Grand 2019 (resigned) – her parents allegedly broke the law for Miss Lo, just so she can enter a pageant. After failing to fact-check herself, she had the audacity to call pageant pages of spreading “fake news” over a fire that actually happened in her international pageant’s hotel. Then her fake news accusation was replaced with her issue of having a fake Philippine passport which lead her to be “detained” in Paris (that is what happened when French authorities found about her fake travel documents). Was later sent back to Manila after the BPCI is said to used their ‘diplomatic connections’ and then flew without the consent of the local org. Then posted a lengthy social media post accusing the local org of not extending help to which prompted the org to post their own statement. After a mediocre performance at the pageant, she failed to make semis. One of the smartest things this gal has done was probably to resign her title or risk the shame of getting dethroned.
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5. Pia Wurtzbach, Miss Universe 2015 – she was the talk of the town from the time host Steve Harvey mistakenly announced the wrong winner in Miss Universe until the end of her reign. In her year, the MU pageant garnered the most number of online buzz, this is evident with the Miss Universe 2015 pageant being the most searched edition (as seen on Google Trends). She is the most followed Miss Universe winner on Instagram as well with over 9 million followers. During her reign, she has managed to make the MU pageant the most trending pageant in the year of her reign.
4. Imelda Schweighart, Miss Philippines Earth 2016 (resigned) – hers was one of the cringe-est shenanigans in pageantry. After convincing fellow candidates that raw rambutan seeds are edible to eat (which are quite toxic if not processed properly), she has several few more scandalous antics like picking a social media fight with former ME winner Karla Henry and calling in the ME winner, Katherine Espin, as fake. Even her ‘Hitler’ joke was done in ill-taste that even then reigning Miss Earth, Angelia Ong has issued a well-meaning take on the issue. Months after she resigned her title, she gave birth which perhaps was the reason for her courtesy resignation. Some pageant fans calculated the time of her giving birth to her conception and cam to a conclusion that she was probably between 2-3 months pregnant when she competed in Miss Earth.
3. Megan Young, Miss World 2013 – she made the Miss World pageant relevant to Filipino pageant fans after more than 4 decades of fielding reps with no victory to boot. Megan Lynn Young became the first and only Filipina to win the British-owned Miss World pageant in Bali, Indonesia. Since her win, she is the only MW queen to have hosted the pageant for 6 consecutive years!
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2. Catriona Gray, Miss Universe 2018 – she was supposed to be heir apparent to the Miss World crown in 2016, but fate had other plans for her. Her path was redirected to the Miss Universe pageant where she won the 4th MU crown for the Philippines in 2018. Her gameplan in participating in the MU pageant is so well-organized that it ushered in a different way of joining pageants. Undoubtedly, the Catriona Gray Effect has changed the landscape of how a MU winner is to define her participation and reign as winner. She defined her reign As Miss Universe, she has piled in numerous endorsements for the MUOrg, something that no other previous queen has done in such huge capacity. She has made so much money for the org that she is rumored to have been offered an extension of three more years for her contract, to which she has declined to focus on her career in the Philippines. Since the end of her reign, she has singed in with a new management firm and is expected to author a book of her pageant journey as well as in talks to release new music of her own. Catriona is also the fastest MU winner to earn over 5 million followers in Instagram and is currently the second most followed MU winner with 8 million, trailing behind Pia Wurtzbach with 8.7 million followers.
1. Maria Venus Raj, 2010 Miss Universe 4th runner up – it was a tough call on who should we place at number 1 between Venus and Catriona. But the 23-inch waist dusky Filipina-Indian won over with how she became an internet sensation when she made semis in 2010 after 10 years on non-placement in Miss Universe. According to our pageant media friends in Las Vegas who watched the 2010 edition, the entire venue roared with thunderous cheer when Venus made top 10 over the Venezuelan and American reps. And it has been that since then. Social media has opened up Filipino fandom since Venus’ made 4th runner up in the pageant and the successive runner-up placements after her. A video reaction to her making semis has gone viral that it became an internet sensation which even lead to a TV commercial for those involved. After her pageant stint, she did several hosting gigs and has earned her Master’s Degree in Community Development from the University of the Philippines. Arguably, she ignited the entire pageantry fandom that we have been enjoying this decade.
SASHES&SCRIPTS 