New Miss Cebu hails from bloodline of beauty queens

MANILA, Philippines – Adding to her family gallery of beauty queens and Cebuano ancestry of public figures, a 19-year-old multi-media artist breezed through a three-hour coronation night to be declared the 32nd Miss Cebu winner, Wednesday at the Pacific Grand Ballroom of the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino.

Miss Cebu 2016 was her first pageant stint, but Gabriele Raine Baljak shimmied like a pro onstage and took on two Q&A rounds with the ease of a seasoned public speaker.

Asked during the casual Q&A her greatest learning in life so far, the Filipina-Croatian beauty said, “My greatest learning is every second that I exist on this earth, as a human being, we never stop learning. And that is why in life, it is truly beautiful to accept everything that we are given, and we must always take these with positivity, because everything should be taken with a smile.”

She too didn’t miss a beat during the final Q&A, sealing the deal with a confident answer that incorporated Cebu City’s new tagline.

The top five were asked how they would convince the controversial reigning Miss Colombia, Miss Universe 2015 first runner-up Ariadna Gutierrez, to come to Cebu, to which Raine said, “As a proud Cebuana, I would tell her to visit Cebu, because it is where the heart sings. Cebuanos have genuine passion—we love to share, and we care about our people. From what I’ve seen of Miss Colombia, she is gorgeous and confident, but for me, there was too much confidence and sometimes that goes the other way. Coming here to Cebu, I believe our people can show her to enjoy simple things. Cebuanos are happy no matter what, and that’s what makes ‘Cebu, Where the Heart Sings.’”

The five-foot-seven mestiza was also chosen Kapamilya Star of the Night and Best in Evening Gown (in a sweetheart neckline ensemble by Dino Lloren), in addition to be being selected Best in Fun Wear and Miss Epson during the pre-pageant night.

Crowned with a new Miss Cebu bejeweled headpiece dubbed “Kaugmaon,” Raine took home prizes that included P100,000, trips to Hong Kong and Las Vegas, Nevada.

Born in Australia to a Cebuana mother and Croatian father, Raine moved to Cebu at two years old, spending a good amount of years in Danao City, where as a nine-year-old, she and a cousin raised funds to build a playground for kids in her barangay. It is a childhood passion project she’s eager to duplicate as the new Miss Cebu, along with fulfilling her duties as the Queen City of the South’s ambassadress.

Raine’s mom Merce Abellana was crowned Cebu’s Five Prettiest-Australia 1986, and was also Miss Mandaue 1984 third runner-up and Binibining Pilipinas 1990 semi-finalist. Her aunt Mae Beverly Lao-Abellana was a Binibining Pilipinas 1981 runner-up. A great-grandma was also a beauty queen.

Among her forefathers are Gregorio Abellana who fought in the Spanish war, Jovito Abellana who fought in the Japanese war and former Cebu governor Hilario Abellana.

After completing an International Baccalaureate Diploma at Cebu International School, Raine busied herself as a MyTV host, Monster Radio DJ, model and musician.

Coming in at a close second is first runner-up Tracy Maureen Perez, a 22-year-old Industrial Engineering graduate who currently works as an Eperformax contact center agent.

Second runner-up is Shaila Mae Rebortera, 19, a third year Dentistry student of Cebu Doctor’s University. She was also awarded Miss Gems and Designs and Miss Ayala Fiesta Island during the pre-pageant night.

Finishing third runner-up is Merl Gayo, this batch’s youngest at 18 and the tallest at five-foot-eight. Merl is a third year Aviation Electronics Technology major at the Indiana Aerospace University.

Rounding out the top five is 24-year-old Felina Joyce Lim, who was also recipient of the Miss Friendship by Waterfront and Miss Photogenic by NGenius awards. The licensed massage therapist and Nursing graduate admitted she was surprised at her Top 5 placement, knowing that she stuttered during the casual Q&A and had realized after the pageant that she misunderstood the final question.

Miss Cebu’s court received trips to Hong Kong and cash prizes of P75,000, P50,000, P40,000 and P30,000 for the first runner-up, second runner-up, third runner-up and fourth runner-up, respectively.

Winning Best Evening Gown Designer was Jun Escario, whose creation was worn by candidate #10 Bea Clarisse Raboy.

The judge’s panel included Robinsons Land Corporation President and Chief Operating Officer Frederick D. Go, fashion photographer and top model Jo Ann Bitagcol, renowned stage designer and “Fashion Filipina” author Gino Gonzales, actor-director Rowell Santiago and fashion legend Christian Espiritu.

On its 32nd year, the Miss Cebu pageant took inspiration from the new Cebu brand “Cebu, Where the Heart Sings,” with segments featuring Cebu’s heritage, historical spots, culture, highland vistas, beaches, fashion, modern day creative industries and its people.

The opening production featured the hablon, a local indigenous fabric from Argao applied to modern design by Rey Villegas, Hadji Godinez, Peewee Senining and Roni Yu. The mid-production number featured the barong in innovative designs by Brian Aloquin, Yvonne Quisumbing, Valerie Alvez and Edwin Ao; while the evening gown segment, inspired by old photos of Cebu, featured creations in sepia tones from designers Ditas Rodriguez, Marichu Tan, Albert Arriba, Ren Manabat, Philipp Tampus, Wendell Quisido, Arcy Gayatin, Oj Hofer, Dino Lloren, Jun Escario, Harley Ruedas and William Manahan.

Singers Danielle Mae Ozaraga, Tria Bascon and Etore “Thor” Dulay entertained the crowd.

Honored with a special tribute was Miss Cebu alumna Rogelie Catacutan (a third runner-up in the 2010 edition), who made waves last year as Binibining Pilipinas-Supranational 2015 and a Top 20 finalist in Miss Supranational 2015 held in Poland. (FREEMAN)