USAPANG SENATE: UMAMIN SI DUTERTE

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Pageant Result: Mr. Cosmopolitan 2024

Congratulations Emerson Gomez. Emerson was in the Top Ten of Mr. Cosmopolitan 2024.  He was also awarded the Best In Formal Wear, SPS Award and the Kraam Award.  The pageant was held in Korat Thailand last October 26, 2024

Hibiscus Of The Day

 

Pageant Result: Miss Grand International 2024

The winners of Miss Grand International from left to right: Safietou Kabengele - France - Third Runner Up, CJ Opiaza - Philippines - First Runner Up, Rachel Gupta - India - Miss Grand International 2024, Thae Su Nyein - Myanmar - Second Runner Up, and Taliyah Hartmann - Brazil - Fourth Runner Up. the pageant was held at MGI in Bangkok Thailand last October 25, 2024.

TIGIL-HINGA-KALMA: Kim, Ogie, MC and Lassy's buwis-buhay Magpasikat 2024...

TIGIL ... HINGA ... KALMA Just like the reminder before we cross the railroad ... we have to Stop ... Look ... and Listen. Sa Magpasikat DAY 2 naman ang kanilang battlecry ay Tigil ... Hinga ... Kalma. Indeed the theme of Ogie, Kim, MC and Lassie's magnum opus is relatable and any parent worth his salt understands where they are coming from. Any Filipino has experience to be in the main leads psychological shoes. That is why when one of them said: "Wala na ba tayong karapatang magpahinga ... may kirot akong nararamdaman ... dahil everyday nakipagbuno tayo sa lahat ng mga challenges ... at times we feel na para tayong kandilang nauupos ... and we feel strangulated and suffocated at hindi na tayo makahinga. Wala na ba tayong karapatang mag-day off dahil pag ginawa mo yon ... may mga nakaambang mga problema waiting to happen. Para akong nanonood ng Broadway at binuhay natin ang kantahan at sayawan sa teatro in the likes of Godspell or Jesus Christ Superstar. Kim Chiu's daring trapeze act is one for the books ... and it will be forever etched in my memory. This proves one thing ... she can do just about anything. Ogie despite his insecurities about new talents lording it over and giving the veteran's the run for their money is still a musical genius and his musicality has still the touch of gold. MC and Lassie both stand up comedians have left their comfort zones and tried drama this time ... and both succeed with flying colors. Aside from Kim's terpsichorean ability ang acrobatic skills ... what stole the show was Ogie's composition in the near finale where the chant Tigil ... Hinga ... Kalma ... rose to a crescendo ... that gave me goose bumps. I can't help but clap until my palms turned crimson ... because I felt similar pain ... especially waking up in the morning to go to work: My body says I need to REST ... but my spirit says otherwise. Dahil ang isang araw na pahinga ... is already a luxury. Katumbas nito ang kawalan ng maraming bagay - like pambayad sa ilaw, tubig, renta at kuryente. 

Last Two Women Standing

As expected … Rachel Gupta of India and CJ Opiaza of the Philippines were the two last women standing in the Miss Grand International 2024 finals. It was a bloodbath and no doubt both deserved their placements as the winner and the first runner-up. There was no cooking show whatsoever and for the first time Filipinos were content with the result and there was no after-show bickering. Filipinos were actually in an appreciative mood … as they even went to the extent of leading the crusade of greeting Miss India with heartfelt congratulations in person and in print.

What marred the show was not Uncle Nawat’s doing …(that’s what I thought) but Thae Su Nyein  - Miss Myanmar’s temper tantrums where she unabashedly cried her heart out for just settling the second up. Htoo Ant Lwin … the National Director even grabbed her crown and removed her sash … as she was escorted outside with the histrionics of a five-year-old child. That is what one gets when you expect a lot … and when the moment of truth comes … you fall short of your towering expectations. 

The height of this brewing controversy was Miss Myanmar shown crying … BAREFOOTED … she must have removed her shoes to show her protest. And the National Director was on a war path …  as videos of him were circulating … cursing kibitzers in full regalia as they secretly recorded the juicy tidbits of what is going on behind the scenes. In his social media, the National Director has only two words: Goodbye … Forever!

Who was really at fault here? The news from the grapevine says there is something fishy again and they said it involves some under-the-table deals that involved money (allegedly in exchange for winning some special awards … or was it the title? My advice to everybody: “ Chill ... and let us be prudent and have some self-control not to jump to conclusions right away. Let the story unfold … for sure the involved parties will shed light on what really happened.”

As of press time, we haven’t heard if Uncle Nawat has already given some reaction … after the fiasco when he shipped ASAP the candidates out of Cambodia because of his tiff with the Cambodian organizers … it looked like the organizers are really fishing for another scandal.  Publicities to them … whether negative or not …what counts and what matters is that the pageant world is talking about MGI once again.