Producing Winners

Tonight will be the closing fellowship party of the 15th Cebu Press Freedom Week. Tonight is also exactly a week after the successful staging of Mr. & Miss Press Freedom 2009, which was organized by the E-Group (Entertainment Group) and supported by Cebu Daily News, being this year’s Lead Convener. It was a fun and colorful pageant that saw reporters and editors from various media outfits cheering on their respective representatives, who all did their best to outsmart and outshine each other at the fabulous Vudu Resto bar at the Crossroads in Banilad. This year, I believe, had the biggest and most exciting staging because this is the first time since the pageant started in 2004, that a search for a male counterpart was done.

And last Saturday night’s results made me a “double winner” even if I was not a candidate. Why so? It’s all because The FREEMAN bet Stacy Danica Alcantara and ABS-CBN’s Roy Empleo, who represented Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP), won the titles. So, that made a “double winner” because I’m also part of KBP, being a program handler of radio station dyLA 909 khz. Am I just lucky or what?

Anyway, Stacy’s victory last Saturday elated us in the newsroom to the highest level, so to speak, because she became the fourth winner from The FREEMAN, out of the six pageants that have been held. My good friend, copy editor Joeberth Ocao, pointed out to me that we are now the “Venezuela of Press Freedom” because we have now the most number of crowns. I corrected him that USA has the most number of Miss Universe crowns in history having garnered seven as compared to Venezuela with only six. But he explained to me that Venezuela has more runners-up compared to USA so, it’s safe to say that that Latin country is truly a powerhouse of beauty.

I bumped into dyHP station manager Atty. Ruphil Bañoc at Vudu before the pageant and pointed out to him how they are taking the Miss KBP pageant seriously because it’s now the third time that a winner came from their station. But he quickly replied, “Sa Miss KBP ra man pod kay sa Miss Press Freedom na Freeman man permi makadaog.” Meaning to say, we are the ones who are taking this beauty and brains pageant very seriously. Which could be true since the truth is a few months before September, we already start scouting from our roster of reporters and writers for a possible candidate and when we have identified “the one,” we would submit a recommendation to our editor-in chief Jerry Tundag for his final approval. Sometimes, we debate over our bet’s background and chances of winning.

In the newsroom, choosing our Ms. Press Freedom representative is never easy because physical beauty is only a secondary requirement, as it has always been more on the personality and her wit. And most of the time, it would take a lot of convincing before our representative would agree to “take the plunge,” so to speak. The hesitation is normal as, of course, we would rather write than be on stage and in a pageant. Plus, the pressure is very evident knowing that we have produced the most number of winners over the years. So, who were these winners, who now belong to what can be called as The FREEMAN’s powerhouse of beauty?

First there was Lani Ginete in 2004, the statuesque mestiza intern from Saint Theresa’s College who was discovered by then Lifestyle section editorial assistant Ariel Allera. Lani was hesitant at first but Ariel convinced her that Miss Press Freedom is not your typical pageant. She agreed and did research on the company’s profile at the same time got pageant tips from Ariel.

Then in 2006, truly beauty queen material Kidstuff editor and opinion columnist Ardelle Merton arrived in the newsroom. We were all united in saying, she was the one. But the problem was she came from a very conservative family who is not into pageants. But we assured her, she would simply walk in her gown to the stage, then she would be asked a question about press freedom, and it’s over. “Kita-kita ra,” one editor reassured her. So, imagine her surprise when she stepped into a Capitol Social Hall that was filled to capacity by members of the Cebu media already excitedly awaiting the start of the pageant proper!

The following year, now TV Patrol Central Visayas reporter Rachelle Dangin, started contributing articles to this section. Judging from her background as a student leader and dean’s lister at the University of the Philippines-Cebu, we knew she was the one we were looking for who could surely duplicate Merton’s feat. But the problem was that Rachelle was not only a first-timer like Ginete and Merton, she was also unconvinced that she’s got what it takes to be a beauty queen.

The good thing with Rachelle is that she is adventurous and open to trying out new things provided that we would be there to help her. Problem solved for we had ace make-up artist Ramil Solis to give Rachelle that sultry beauty queen look, while Bb. Pilipinas World 2006 Anna Maris Igpit came over just a day before the pageant to train our bet from doing the catwalk to organizing her thoughts during the Q&A portion. Rachelle was picture of confidence and grace on pageant night that she ran away with the crown.

And this year, we faced the same question again: Who would represent us in Miss Press Freedom? Luckily, Stacy came in last May, wanting to become a contributor. Just watching her photo in her resume and reading her background I knew then we found our bet. When I saw her walking in for her interview with Lifestyle executive editor Mayen Tan in high heels, I knew she was a winner already. And my feeling was realized last Saturday night at Vudu.

So will we have another back-to-back win next year in Miss Press Freedom just like what happened in 2006 and 2007? You will never know. What I know is we still don’t know who would take the pressure of representing us. Who knows that could be you?

By the way, on behalf of E-Group, I would like to extend my sincerest thanks to “PR genius” Jaja Chiongbian-Rama for allowing to use Vudu as pageant venue complete with dinner and drinks. Thank you also to our distinguished panel of judges: corporate executive and lawyer Jeanette Japzon of Cebu Holdings Inc., Zee magazine editor-in-chief Cybil Gayatin and one of Cebu’s gifted fashion photographers, Dan Ong. Till next time!

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