A well-presented Binibini show

There are several reasons why last Saturday night’s presentation of the Binibining Pilipinas at the Araneta Coliseum (telecast on Channel 7) turned out to be one of the best in recent years. First, the direction of Al Quinn was smooth and orderly and the spiels provided by scriptwriter Agnes Caballa for the hosts were relatively concise and no-nonsense.

Second, the three production numbers were simple but well executed. The ballroom dancing-inspired number featuring last year’s winners - plus other past Binibini title-holders – was a good concept, while the Gary Valenciano serenade was no-fuss, "non-gimmicky," but quite entertaining.

And then, there were the hosting chores rendered by TJ Manotoc, Brad Turvey and the last-minute replacement of Ruffa Gutierrez, Pops Fernandez. Ideally, Ruffa would be the more appropriate choice , given the fact that she was a former Binibining Pilipinas winner. (In the case of Pops, she immediately became Mrs. Martin Nievera before she could even become a Miss this or Miss that–that is, if she had been inclined to join such contests.)

The other year, Ruffa hosted the Binibining Pilipinas pageant and did a spectacular job. It was unfortunate that she got ill (while in transit at that) and failed to make it to last Saturday’s pageant. At any rate, Pops Fernandez also did marvelously as anchorman. "I’d also like to say that she was at her loveliest that evening. The seasoned television host that she is, she merely breezed through her spiels, but with command and authority. Incidentally, that wasn’t the first time Pops hosted the Binibining Pilipinas contest. Twenty years ago, at the height of the popularity of Penthouse Live, she also performed the same job with husband-to-be Martin Nievera.

Aussie import Brad Turvey also did quite well in his performance as co-host of the pageant. Of course, his being new at the job still showed from time to time, but we can forgive him for that - in the same manner that we forgive him for saying "Benebene" instead of Binibini.

Actually, the best performance that evening was delivered by TJ Manotoc who did most of the hosting chores. Bursting with energy, he was the one who put the show together. TJ was a good choice as pageant host and his participation there had a lot of relevance since his mother, former Miss International Aurora Pijuan, was a product of the Binibini contest. In fact, one of the more touching moments of the evening was when Ms. Pijuan - obviously pleased with her son’s excellent performance on stage-patted TJ on his cheek after a brief on-cam exchange that was part of the presentation of former Binibining Pilipinas winners.

But more than the production numbers and the show’s concept and execution, what really kept the viewers glued to the TV screens during the pageant were the contestants themselves. Yes, the Binibini had a good batch this year. Most of the contest hopefuls had lovely faces and shapely figures that were initially displayed in one-piece bathing suits and later - during the finals - in eye-popping two-piece swimwear.

Most of the viewers - at home and at the Araneta Coliseum - were of course very curious to see how the daughter of Pepe Smith, Sanya (Candidate No. 16) looks like. I mean, let’s face it, Pepe Smith is no gorgeous hunk given his lanky and reed-thin frame and those cheeks that are even far more hollow than the Sunken Garden of the University of the Philippines. So, everyone must have wondered how a young female Pepe Smith would look like. When she finally came out on stage - what do you know? - Sanya Smith turned out to be quite a beauty. While she has the sharp and edgy features of her father, these are better distributed on her younger and healthier-looking face and body. In fact, a lot of viewers must have been disappointed when she failed to make it to the finals. (She only got as far as the Top 12). But it was really a tough contest with other pretty girls also in the running.

Watching the aspirants parade in front of the camera, you also couldn’t help but notice how some of them resemble a few of our local celebrities. Yes, there were look-alikes of Baby Delgado, Vivienne Foz, Jacqui Magno and a younger and fresher-looking version of Janice Jurado. Some of them actually won the titles, but I’m letting you figure out for yourselves which ones they are.

Unlike in most other local beauty pageant, the interview portion in last Saturday night’s ‘Binibini was spared from becoming a sideshow of booboos courtesy of some humbling contestants. Some of the answers given by the contestants to question posed by TJ Manotoc, in fact, were quite impressive. It was just too bad for second runner-up Noela Mae Evangelista because she went on and on with her answers in the final round. She started out quite well when she said something about peace emanating from us individuals and so on and so forth, but didn’t stop at an appropriate moment when she had the chance to do that. Sadly, she paid dearly for that and failed to take home one of the titles at stake.

And so with that, we found the key to victory in these pageants – which in the future – beauty contest hopefuls perhaps should bear in mind: In the pivotal question-and-answer portion, it’s not really what you say that matters, but how you say it that counts.

The bottom line is, in these pageants, it’s still beauty, grace, and poise that rule – and not necessarily intelligence.