In search of Cebu’s five prettiest

The Queen City of the South has chosen its prettiest princesses. And I’m proud to say I was on hand to select the lucky five!

Cebu’s Five Prettiest annual pageant is only in its second year, but already it has drawn a host of Cebu’s beau monde, thanks to the indefatigable efforts of the founder, Mariecor Salas-Ding. Mariecor is the present and managing director of MSD Personality and Development Consultants. Being a woman bent on promoting total well-being, Mariecor believes in inner and outer beauty. That’s one reason why she established Cebu’s Five Prettiest. The titleholders will do a great deal more than don luxurious gowns; they will also act as spokespersons for three hospices, namely, the SOS Children’s Village, the St. Martin de Porres Special Learning Center and the Cebu City Task Force on Street Children.

The fast-paced show, held at the Grand Ballroom of the Marriott Hotel, appropriately began with a heart-tugging number by Cebu’s streetchildren followed by Jun Polistico who mesmerized us with his ballads.

The board of judges was composed of chairman, Rosebud Sala; Honorary Consul to the US John Domingo; David Charlston, president and CEO of David’s Salon; Eloisa Fernan, wife of the late Sen. Marcelo Fernan; socialites Ada Martinez and Chari Aboitiz; Pat Castillo of John Robert Powers; Patrick Gregorio, CEO of the Waterfront Hotel; Ben Bousnina, general manager of the Shangri-La Mactan Island Resort; interior designer Zenny Deen, and your columnist.

Hearthrob Robin da Rosa and the gallant Francis Adrian Ding hosted the program, which was directed by Junjet Primor. Congresswoman Nerissa Soon-Ruiz delivered a timely speech on the role of women, while Cebu’s first lady, Margot Osmeña, was also there to represent her pet project and one of the beneficiaries, the Cebu City Task Force on Street Children.

The affair was scintillating both on and off stage, with the presence of Cebu’s most notable denizens: Honorary Consul to France Richard Forteau; celebrated judge Gloria Dalawampu with her husband, architect and designer Maxwell Espina; Sue Gray; Bunny Pages; David and Tessie Chan of the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Loring Victorino, founder of the St. Martin de Porres Special School and Jayelles Holdings EVP Bong Del Rosario-Palma Gil.

Twenty-one of the most beautiful Cebuanas I have ever seen, ranging in age from 13 to 22, made our task as pageant judges doubly difficult. But after all was said and done, after all the candidates (dressed in Winston Desierto creations made of Korean fabric) sashayed on stage, my colleagues and I decided to crown Elizabeth Maynard and Nicole Anne Siason.

Through the charity and beauty of this new batch of girls, I hope that alluring Cebu will be an even better city to live in, especially for its less privileged children. As more children benefit from the program, may more women also realize that the world is in unlimited need of caring, unprejudiced hearts and generous hands.

To the people behind Cebu’s Five Prettiest, keep up the good work!

* * * Asian Awareness In The Big Apple

New York has always been the undisputed melting pot of the world. Who knows just how many cuisines and communities teem in the promise and prestige of the Big Apple?

In 1956, a group of concerned New Yorkers had already foreseen that need and established the Asia Society which to their day remains the pre-eminent organization in the United States for building awareness of the hodgepodge of countries, cultures and peoples that is Asia.

To carry out this relevant and invaluable task more effectively, the Asia Society renovated its building on Park Avenue. The association recently celebrated the opening of the building through a gala reception with our own President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as special guest. The morning after the gala, President Arroyo was also guest speaker at a breakfast forum hosted by the Asia Society and the Council on Foreign Relations. On both occasions, Filipino residents of New York as well as prominent Filipinos from Manila warmly greeted the president.

Nicolas Platt, former US ambassador to Manila, heads the Asia Society. The group has arrived at our shores as well, with STAR columnist Doris Magsaysay Ho as chair. Since it opened in Manila in 1999, the Asia Society has already mounted a broad range of programs designed to develop better understanding of issues related to Asia as well as the United States.