WHEN it comes to beauty pageants, there is no denying that the Philippines is one of the strong contenders for the crown. 

This is evident in the number of titles it bagged at the international pageants, including the most prestigious Miss Universe competition. 

The Philippines had a 12-year uninterrupted streak of entering the Miss Universe pageant’s semifinal round, which started when Venus Raj finished fourth runner-up in 2010, until 2021. During this period, two Miss Universe crowns were taken home by Pia Wurtzbach in 2015 and Catriona Gray in 2018. 

The country has so far earned 15 crowns in four major international beauty pageants: four for Miss Universe, one for Miss World, six for Miss International, and four for Miss Earth.

These victories probably make other individuals, especially non-pageant fans, wonder why Filipina beauty queens always come out strong in such competitions.

Well, the answer is simple for long-time pageant blogger and director for communications of Mister International Philippines Organization Norman Tinio: these Filipina delegates never go into a battle unprepared.

Pinays are ‘well-prepared’

Each year, the Philippines faces a strong competitor in international beauty pageants. But with the kind of training and preparations they have gone through, Filipina delegates are surely “one step ahead” of other candidates, according to Tinio.

“Para tayong nasa new stocks palagi ng mga items ng department stores. Yung mga ibang countries nasa clearance items sila, kumbaga, we always are one step ahead in terms of methodologies,” the pageant coach told republicasia.

These methodologies, he said, are crafted to make sure that Filipinas are well-prepared for beauty competitions.

The team of a certain candidate has to make sure that the beauty queen is geared up in terms of wardrobe and in answering questions for the question-and-answer segment. 

Tinio highlighted the importance of knowing about current issues happening across the world, stressing that such knowledge would help them explain themselves better onstage.

They must also be mentally and psychologically prepared so that they can accept either their victory or defeat “in the most level-headed way,” he added.

“Once ang candidate ng Philippines ang pinapadala for international competition, lahat ng areas na yan, all of those areas, the team behind her makes sure that she covers all bases and that she’s prepared to handle anything and be prepared to face any surprises along the way,” Tinio emphasized.

Tinio likened the training that Filipina beauty queens undergo to that of soldiers who are equipped with all the weapons and ammunition needed to win a battle.

“Hindi tayo pupunta sa isang competition na may kulang, or merong bitin, or merong half-hearted na pagka-prepare or something. Handang-handa tayo palagi and that’s what sets us apart from other countries,” he said.

Another factor that makes a Filipina candidate stand out is that they know how to converse well with other people.

Tinio acknowledged how other Asian countries keep up with the Philippines, but he noted how competent the Filipina beauty queens are with the English language despite it not being their mother tongue.

“We speak English better than them because we have a different insight on how to handle international pageants,” he said. 

“Hindi naman yan parang playground lang that you will go there, and be friends with the girls and hope that your lucky stars will align in your favor,” he continued.

Michelle Dee ‘delivered’

The world, the universe rather, had seen how Philippine representative Michelle Dee put up a good fight at the 72nd Miss Universe pageant which concluded on November 19 (Manila time) in El Salvador.

She finished in the Top 10 of the competition. Despite failing to clinch the country’s fifth title, Filipinos celebrated how Dee managed to put the Philippines back to the semifinals after its 12-year streak was interrupted last year. 

Dee began the preliminary competition with a regal performance when she confidently walked on the Miss Universe stage with a sizzling red one-piece swimsuit by designer Rubin Singer during the swimsuit contest.

Donning a Mark Bumgarner gleaming emerald dress, the Philippine bet entered the stage in her iconic “S” walk.

For Tinio, Dee did not fail to “deliver” on stage.

“I don’t want to sound patriotic or nationalistic or anything of that sort, but looking at it from her actual performances in both segments, she delivered, that’s the best. She delivered on both,” the pageant blogger said.

Tinio also noticed how Dee made sure that she “performed beyond expectations” in the swimwear competition and evening gown show.

Basis of a good performance

But how can pageant experts like Tinio tell that Dee slayed in the preliminary competition? Tinio shared that one should keep in mind that Miss Universe or other beauty pageant is not just about the candidates’ visuals, attire, and the way they present themselves onstage.

“In my decades of pageant blogging, pageant chronicling, I have somehow learned that style of assessing ladies from a different vantage. It’s not just, ‘Okay, look at the face, look at the body, look at the gown, look at how she walks,’ it has to be collective,” he said.

“And you have to add to that [the] appeal that comes from having the skin eye in terms of experience and pageant watching through the years,” he continued.

Their judgment is made after looking at different angles, Tinio noted.

“You try to look at it from different angles, and also consider different aspects like ‘the business aspect of things.’ Can the country she represents be good for the branding of Miss Universe?” he said.

He went on, “When I say, can it be good for the branding, meaning, since Miss Universe is really focusing on business right now, will the brand prosper if she and her country wins the competition?”

Tinio said that such a factor is something that not a lot of pageant watchers talk about since most of them are focusing only on the candidates’ appearances.

“If you’re not beautiful, you should not win. Parang ganon ang mathematics nila doon, but with experience, you come to consider different factors that will contribute to a potential win for a specific candidate,” he stressed.

Dee has a ‘ very unique’ personality

For the 72nd Miss Universe competition, Dee faced strong competitors such as Colombia, Thailand, and Nicaragua, according to Tinio. 

Nicaragua won the Miss Universe crown this year. Thailand was the first runner-up, while Colombia finished in the Top 5.

Tinio highlighted that these delegates have the beauty and advocacy to speak of, but Dee was exuding a “very unique” personality among the contestants.

“Michelle’s personality is very unique in the sense that it’s like she doesn’t need to second guess on what to do next, or what not to do, or how to handle the situation, or how to be friends with other candidates,” the pageant mentor said.

He noted that Dee knew her game plan right from the get-go, and that she really prepared for the competition, such as learning other languages like Spanish as this is the official language of El Salvador.

“Well, she cannot speak Spanish fluently or conversationally for that matter, but at least she can get context clues already on what people are talking about if they’re talking Spanish all around,” he said.

Tinio also likened Dee’s preparations to that of Kylie Versoza who took home the Philippines’ sixth Miss International title in 2016. The Miss International 2016 pageant was held in Tokyo, Japan.

“She prepared for everything. She planned all her speeches, and she knew how to deal with the Japanese locals, that’s the locals but even the officials,” he said, talking about Versoza.

Like the Miss International 2016 winner, Tinio noticed that Dee also knew how to network herself.

“Michelle is confident enough to be with all different group types of candidates in Miss Universe, and she can talk to the officials, she can talk to the powerful ones with such a confident ease around her,” he said.

Tinio believes that the actress-beauty queen had done everything just right during the pageant. 

“Wala na akong makita sa kaniya na dapat pang i-improve. I’ve already seen her being interviewed, and I know that she can confidently answer any question without overdoing it. Yung choice of words niya are very well selected,” he said.

For Tinio, Dee is a “woman who thinks on her feet.”

“In my books, a woman who thinks on her feet is someone that people will listen to because you’ll always wait for the next word that will come out of her mouth,” he added.