CEBU, Philippines – “I know I have a lot to share, primarily, the love of God and His promises to prosper us. Tonight, I declare that with or without a crown, I will continue to support the mission and vision of My Pretty Mama. Together with our lovely chairman and beauty queens, I too, would like to empower women. And I do have wings. Together with 15 other candidates, we will make My Pretty Mama fly. Ladies and gentlemen, forever fab according to His will and design, I am My Pretty Mama 2014,” Czarina Cheloe Ylaya mouthed with confidence and grace that impressed the audience and eventually, made her win the third My Pretty Mama title.
During its final battle Saturday night at the Elizabeth Mall theater, 16 pretty moms shone bright like true fairies as they sashayed onstage wearing their fairy godmother-inspired winged gowns. Each finalist was in fighting form as they showcased themselves in production numbers, cosplay costumes, evening gowns, all the way to the nerve-wracking question and answer portion.
Ylaya, 36, stunning in her white and silver-embellished gown, wowed judges with her stage presence and witty reply during the impromptu speaking segment.
The Mandaue City resident also bagged Best in Talent for her declamation about motherhood and abortion during the Talent’s Night held October 25 at J Centre Mall. Her other citations include Best in Production Number, Mrs. Ever Belina, and The Freeman’s Choice (an award that automatically sent her to the Top 7 roster).
Ylaya – a former Miss Cebu runner-up (back when the pageant was still called Miss Cebu Tourism) who used to appear in ABS-CBN Cebu as a host and actress – said that she played up her advantage of being experienced in the pageant scene.
“Of course, I expected to win,” she said in a post-pageant interview. “We worked hard at it, and if you join a certain pageant you do all you can, and you expect to get the most out of it. But then, aside from the crown, I also expected to win in terms of experience, friendship, knowledge and all the contacts that I can get. So for me, winning is not just about getting the crown.”
A mother of a five-year-old boy and a three-year-old girl, Ylaya shared that she joined My Pretty Mama because she wanted to de-stress from the rigors of work and daily life.
Her most unforgettable experience during the course of My Pretty Mama? “It’s the experience with The Freeman wherein all of us were sort of unmasked. It’s not just the beauty queen goods and glamour of the pageant but everyone took in, in terms of how motherhood and being a wife are difficult. They have different perspectives and it opened my eyes,” said Ylaya, who, together with her co-candidates, attended a public speaking workshop at The FREEMAN office.
Ylaya said that the beauty tilt made her realize how there is much to be done in terms of empowering women. “I would like to empower other women based on scripture and what we’re destined to do, and that is to love, to nurture unconditionally and to be there to support our family.”
Asked how she juggles her career, home life, and pageant activities, Ylaya replied, “I have weekends and day-offs. And Redfly [pageant organizer] is very flexible with their time.”
If there’s one thing Ylaya would like to say to moms who aspire to be a beauty queen, it would be: “Be fabulous every day. Your circumstance in life will be there no matter what you do. There will always be tests and circumstances. You should suck it up and work to be beautiful and fabulous every day, because there is no reason to look losyang.”
My Pretty Mama 2014’s first runner-up is Catherine Gabronino of Cagayan de Oro, who received the Business Award and Best in Gown for her butterfly-inspired evening ensemble.
Second runner-up was Emilia Hann of Barili also received Best in Anime Costume for her impersonation of Disney’s fictional character Maleficent, Slimmer’s World Award, It Figures Body Beautiful Award and Mrs. Mags Award.
Completing the Top 5 are third runner-up Lorie Santillan of Consolacion, and fourth runner-up Fatima Pepito of Talamban, who was also chosen Mrs. Photogenic.
Other awardees were: Jinkee Regidor of Mandaue for It Figures Pretty Face and The Freeman’s People Choice Award (automatically made her part of Top 7), Ghanie Macabugwas of Dalaguete for Best in Advocacy, and Levanie de los Santos of Bacolod and Florence May Espina of Lapu-Lapu City for the Business Award.