Cebuana crowned Miss Tourism Int’l

CEBU, Philippines - The newly-crowned Miss Tourism International felt it was to her advantage that the pageant’s 2012 winner hailed from her hometown — referring to last year’s title-holder, Rizzini Alexis Gomez.

“I can get personal tips from her and she can really help me get an advantage over the other girls,” Angeli Dione Barbas Gomez had told The Freeman in an August 2013 interview.

The 20-year-old aspiring filmmaker must have listened well to her predecessor, for she managed a back-to-back victory for the Philippines, besting 59 other candidates from all over the world during ceremonies held December 31st at the Putrajaya Marriott Hotel, IOI Resort City in Sepang Utara, Malaysia.

She inherited the crown from Rizzini, a Mandaue City resident who was bestowed the same honor yearend of 2012 in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia.

The rest of the winners are Sunidporn Srisuwan of Thailand, first runner-up; Sarah Czarnuch of Australia, second runner-up, Michelle Alexis Torres of Dominican Republic, third runner-up and Thaarah Ganesan of Malaysia, fourth runner-up.

Gomez is the 17th Miss Tourism International winner and the third Filipina to nab the title, after Rizzini and Maria Esperanza Manzano in 2000.

The 2012 Reyna ng Aliwan winner, Miss Resorts World Manila fourth runner-up, and Binibining Pilipinas 2013 candidate earned the right to represent the country after being declared Mutya ng Pilipinas Tourism International in July 2013.

Mutya ng Pilipinas president Jacqueline Tan said Rizzini helped train Gomez by relating her own experience in Malaysia, including what the flow of the pageant will be.

“Angeli stood out because her mind was set to win the crown, most especially that it was coming from a fellow Cebuana. She’s very determined, passionate, smart, beautiful, and she trained very hard,” Tan said.

And like most Filipinos who triumphed these past months in their respective fields, Tan dedicated the victory to victims of the 2013 natural calamities.

“The Mutya ng Pilipinas organization and the whole country are very proud of Angeli for bringing home the last crown for 2013 from fellow Cebuana Rizzini Gomez and we also take pride in winning the first crown for the Philippines this 2014. With the earthquake and super typhoon that happened in Bohol and Eastern Visayas, we dedicate Angeli’s victory to our fellow countrymen in hopes that it will help in uplifting their spirits,” said Tan.

Miss Tourism International is a Malaysia-based beauty pageant, which aims “to educate and promote tourism and cultural exchange.”

According to a News Strait Times report, Gomez will be tasked as “travelling ambassador in promoting informal international relations between countries to spread the message of peace, goodwill and friendship.”

Gomez’s rewards include a scholarship from Asia Metropolitan University, RM10,000 cash and jewelry.

A message from Gomez posted on the Mutya ng Pilipinas Facebook page partly read, “Happy New Year everyone! I did it guys! I did it! And it’s all thanks to the Lord and to all of you! Thank you so much for all your support! Your spirit and faith in me is what kept me going during the times I lost hope. I can’t thank you all enough and I’m so glad I can make you proud.

“That is the best reward I could ever ask for. I especially want to thank my family, my friends, my crazy snap chatters that made me smile at random times, the Mutya ng Pilipinas organization, Tito Rodgil, and most of all, my Mami Jonas Borces. I could not have done this without you mami! I can’t wait to come home!”

In the same August 2013 interview with The Freeman, Gomez said she initially planned to defer joining pageants for two years after not placing in Binibining Pilipinas.

Her handler Jonas Borces convinced her otherwise. The eldest among three daughters of a pediatrician and a businesswoman, she found herself screening for Mutya ng Pilipinas because she was lured by the travel perks.

She also related that pageant watchers in Manila expect Cebuana bets to be “good walkers and good speakers.”

“I don’t know if it’s because in Cebu, we’re used to speaking in English and that gives us an edge. But more than that, Cebuanas have normally friendly personalities and know how to communicate with other people,” she said.

An outdoor enthusiast, Gomez trained in horseback-riding as a kid, and later on competed in polo matches. She was later on diagnosed with scoliosis and had to discontinue the sport.

After one term each of Biology and Interior Design at the University of San Carlos, Gomez finally found her passion in film when she enrolled in a film course at the International Academy of Film and Television (IAFT) in Mactan, Lapu-Lapu City.

Gomez hopes to complete a full four-year filmmaking course in the United States, sharing that her dream is to helm an action film and help revive the glory days of Cebu’s filmmaking industry. (FREEMAN)