Another Pageant Miscalculation

As they say, too many cooks spoiled the broth ... at kung sino man ang "cook" ang nag-isip ng ganito siya lang ang dapat ipako sa krus. At wala ng iba.

Too many people are involved in the production ,,, and just like what happens ... one false move can ruin the whole enchilada, Without a conductor, every player has an idea for how the music should go—too many cooks adding something to a soup ... the end result may make the soup taste awful.

As an outsider looking in ... I don't want to interfere with the organization's politics, and whatever fast-track decisions they make are theirs. 

I also don't want to avoid encroaching on whatever award gimmicks they strategized to make their brand unique. Still from the get-go ... everything should've been carefully studied ... a comprehensive (intensive and extensive) and thorough look at end results and the aftermath was meticulously considered.

I don't have a problem fast-tracking the popular vote winner in the semi-finalist round. So it should read Top 15 plus 1 ... (to make them 16) and that includes the the popular vote winner (if in their estimate the candidate merited to be included in the elite group.)

However in this edition ... they announced the Top 15 and the Philippines was conspicuously absent.

After that they announced the Top 5 ... and suddenly ... the chief cook decided the popular vote winner be included as part of the Top 6? With all due respect was that fair to the other semifinalists? It has a semblance of a deja vu ... of what happened in Miss Planet recently. 

As an audience trying to savor what was happening ... the broth they served tasted awful.  It was hard to swallow.

I am a Pinoy and the organization's decision to include the Philippines in the Top 6 was ill-advised. And I hate seeing a Pinoy being placed in a bad light. 

Even the Pinoy judges did not miss the eagle-eyed wrath of its critics. Yes, they were part of the selection committee that made the Top 15 verdict (where the Philippines was not even included) ... but definitely, they were not part and parcel of the decision to advance Justine Ong to the Top 6.

Had they added the popular vote in the Top 16 that would be a different story. And if they think the popular vote merited another fast-track move to the Top 6, it would be easier to chew and digest.

Was Mister International a cooking show? Let the chief chef do the talking.  They did the awful broth ... and they did that to themselves.

Let them take all the blame ... and the Philippines has nothing to do with it.

Whatever they give us ... we accept. We are not title-hungry ... we already have 66 titles this year (and still counting). Just like when they crowned another Philippine candidate Alfred Natividad the winner of Mister Asian International 2024 a few hours later in Malaysia ... and John Kevin Oliver Cruz as Mr. Pre-Teen International 2024, Alex Herberich as King of the Pacific 2024 in Kota Kinabalu, Patricia Payumo as Miss Star International 2024 in Brazil and Alyssa Tuscano Alday as Queen of the Pacific 2024 ... we believe the judge's decision ... that the crown was ours ... because we deserve it.

We don't have to resort to a cooking show to win ... and being added as an afterthought is insulting.

Lest I forget it, I can't emphasize enough that last night, the Philippines made another incredible feat when they won 5 titles in 24 hours. I hate to say this (but I will do it anyway), but name any country that has made that impressive record. And while we are at it, name any country with an annual output of 66 titles ... and no country comes close.

Last year they did it ... and they repeat it this year. Only the Philippines breaks the record of the Philippines. End of discussion.