Eyes on the crown

CEBU, Philippines - As the Philippines’ rep to this year’s Miss Universe pageant whips herself up into battle-ready form, her BFF is also agog over preparations for the biggest day of her life.

Miss Universe Philippines 2015 Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach may be laser-focused on her pageant trainings, but there’s no way she’s missing the upcoming wedding of best friend Pauleen Luna to “Eat Bulaga” pillar Vic Sotto.

Pia says Pauleen is still in the early planning phase and they haven’t had the chance to chat after the TV host-actress returned from Los Angeles to attend a cousin’s nuptials.

“Sandali lang kasi ako sa ‘Eat Bulaga’ when I guested there recently. That time, she was still choosing a wedding planner, so maybe now, she has concrete ideas about her wedding theme, the date, etc. As of now, I don’t know the details yet,” Pia says. “But definitely, I’ll be part of the entourage.”

Being one of Pauleen’s closest chums since childhood, the beauty queen has been privy to how their May-December romance blossomed, and how they got to the stage of deciding to settle down.

“They’re a perfect match,” says Pia of why the engagement news didn’t come as a surprise to her.

“They complement one another. They don’t clash. Even with the age gap, they really do complement one another. Their relationship works so well that they’re now getting married.”

Does she see herself also falling for a guy that’s three years her junior?

“Why not? Who knows? If it happened to Pauleen, it can happen to anyone too. Bakit naman hindi. There’s nothing wrong with it,” was Pia’s reply, beffore quickly adding that dating is the least of her concerns right now.

“I’m currently not seeing anybody. Obviously, I’m not thinking about that since I’m already pre-occupied with trainings. I barely even have time for my friends and my family.”

The Fil-German model and former actress shares that she met Pauleen during ABS-CBN workshops they attended as kids. Both weren’t in showbiz yet when they began a friendship that would remain tight  throughout their adulthood and as they carved their own places in the limelight.

Pia cites their compatible sense of humor and their loyalty to one another for keeping their friendship intact.

“Marami kang makakasalamuhang tao, pero hindi lahat pareho kayo ng tawanan, pareho kayo ng jokes,” says Pia.

“Tapos yung tiwala namin sa isa’t-isa, tried-and tested na. Kahit ano man yung sabihin namin, mapagkakatiwalaan namin yung isa’t-isa. Yung mga napagdaanan niya nakita ko na, and vice-versa – and still, nandiyan pa rin kami for one another. I think that’s why our friendship works.”

Relax, Pia

Apart from finding a lifetime pal in her early days in ABS-CBN, Pia also credits her training with the network’s talent management arm Star Magic for polishing her into the confident lady that she now is. Her showbiz exposure, she says, contributed a lot in her journey as a beauty queen.

“The training of ABS-CBN is very heavy, so it’s helped me very well. You have to put on a persona. Although it’s different because in acting, you play a role. When you’re a beauty queen, you play yourself. But the level of confidence is already there. Kung kaya mong kumanta sa mall show kahit hindi ka naman talaga marunong kumanta, kaya mo rin magsalita sa harap ng maraming tao,” Pia muses.

The versatility grilled among actors will serve Pia in good stead, now that the full rights of Miss Universe was acquired by a new organization. From being under the management of Donald Trump, the world’s most popular beauty tilt is now run by WME (William Morris Endeavor) and IMG Models. With this development, pageant watchers speculate that Miss Universe might put more premium on the candidates’ modeling skills.

Pia isn’t daunted by the sudden twist of events. Instead, she and her camp are making sure they cover all bases to make Pia fit the template of what the new owners want their Miss Universe to be.

“It will be exciting for sure. Pinag-aaralan pa namin. At the end of the day, even though it’s now run by IMG Models, it’s still Miss Universe. It’s still a beauty pageant. We’re trying to study the new strategy now on how to make it work for our benefit.”

Bombarded daily with advice, what stands out among the tips dished out to her by former Filipina queens who’ve graced the Miss Universe stage is for her to take it easy.

“To relax and not to become too obsessed with it. Kasi daw, the tendency is, if you become obsessed with it and you over-think, that’s what’s going to pull you down. It’s not the people around you, but it’s yourself that’s going to pull you down.”

“Mas mahirap daw kasi ang laban sa Binibini keysa ibang bansa. Mas matindi yung kompetisyon keysa doon. So palagi nila akong sinasabihan, ‘Relax ka lang Pia.’ Napagdaanan na nila, and they can honestly tell me that if it’s meant for you, it will be given to you.”

Queens give back

Pia, who just turned 26 last September 24, was in town last Saturday with her fellow Binibini 2015 queens Janicel Lubina (Binibining Pilipinas International 2015), Christi Lynn McGarry (Binibining Pilipinas Intercontinental 2015) and Rogelie Catacutan (Binibining Pilipinas Supranational 2015) for an outreach program held at Pizza Hut in SM City Cebu, sponsored by the pizza chain and ice cream brand Dairy Queen.

As an early Christmas treat, the group gave out school supplies and toys to at least 50 kids of SOS Children’s Village from Talamban. After heartily munching on pizza, the kids later on sat down for an engaging storytelling session with Rogelie and was entertained by a magician.

 The "Queens Give Back" event in Cebu was the second leg, as the ladies' earlier flew to Cagayan de Oro for the same outreach program.  (FREEMAN)