Cebuano nabs crown in Gentlemen of the Philippines 2016

CEBU, Philippines - Early top favorite and Mr. New Placenta awardee Andrea Biondo led the winners of the maiden competition of the Gentlemen of the Philippines after securing the top plum, besting 29 other bachelors from all over the country in a finals night held Sunday at the Trinity University of Asia Theater.

The Filipino-Italian hunk, who represented the Filipino Community of South Italy, was crowned Mr. Universal Ambassador Philippines 2016.

Biondo, 23, also bagged awards for Best in Swimwear, Best in Barong Tagalog and Darling of the Press. Later this year, he will represent the Philippines in the Mr. Universal Ambassador 2016 pageant in Indonesia.

Being chosen by Psalmstre chief executive officer  Jim Acosta as Mr. New Placenta, Biondo became the company’s newest brand ambassador together with Mr. World 2016 first runner-up Fernando Alvarez, singer-actor Laurence Mossman and Kapamilya actor Ejay Falcon, the New Placenta for Men’s main endorser.

The reigning Mr. Bachelor Philippines–Italy admitted that he feels bad he cannot speak the Filipino language and have not experienced Filipino culture and tradition being born in Italy and raised in Germany. However, the ever-smiling lad promised to start learning all these things gradually. He also plans to visit Ilocos, the birthplace of his mother, in order to trace his roots and tour around the country to help promote tourism.

The 5’11” stunner is a true-blue health buff who always prioritizes hitting the gym and eating the right food daily. He is also a linguist, being able to speak at least four languages: English, Italian, German and Spanish.

“It makes me feel sad I cannot speak Filipino. But it does not mean I am not proud being a Filipino. My mother is a Filipino, and she always teaches us to be proud of our roots. She has been teaching us Filipino values. I promised to her and to all Filipinos that I will learn to speak Filipino and practice our culture and tradition,” said the international model.

Meanwhile, Gentleman of Cebu Christian Lumasag, who is under Leo Sanchez Models, was crowned Best Global Model 2016. The pageant newbie will be representing the Philippines this year in the Best Global Model of the Year in Portugal.

Lumasag advocates for the education of street kids. He will start rolling out projects that could help provide free education for them during his reign. He believes education is still the passport to a better future and will spare children from living meaningless lives in the streets.

Other winners of the pageant include Job Abogado of Camarines Sur (Mr. Model International 2016), Paul Renzo Velo of the Filipino Community of London (Mr. Tourism International 2016), half-Cebuano Jason Martin of the Filipino Community of Gold Coast, Australia (Mr. Worldwide 2016), Kian Sumague of San Pablo City (Mr. Tourism World 2016), and Mark Joshua Marquez of the Filipino Community of North Italy (Mr. Teen International).

Miguel Alexis Maliwat of San Fernando City, Pampanga and Rex Peter Calibayan of Tagbilaran City, Bohol were first and second runners-up respectively. (FREEMAN)