decade_90s

MISS PHILIPPINES
Beyond 2000

The 90's : Part 2 : What's A Pageant Without. . .

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. . .C O N T R O V E R S I E S ?

The Memorable Women of
MISS PHILIPPINES 1999

The Miss Philippines 1999 Pageant is over. Three winners and 2 runners-up. A promising batch indeed. Everybody
is happy. "We've got a good batch of girls this year!"
Wow, a far cry from the experiences of the past. Well,
it seems like it's smooth sailing from here on . But wait...

Weeks later, disaster strikes! Janelle is dethroned due to citizenship
problems and an unprepared Quiambao then becomes Miss Philippines
Universe. Lalaine retains her title as Miss Philippines International but
neither one of the runners-up are asked to assume the vacated title.

Months later, after Miriam's 1st Runner-up finish at the Miss Universe
Pageant, Lalaine is officially crowned Miss Philippines World and one of the finalists in the pageant, Georgina Sandico, is handpicked and crowned
as the new Miss Philippines International.

Lalaine flies to London to compete in the Miss World Pageant. Despite the training in Caracas, she fails to make the cut and disappears from public
view forever. Ooopss... kidnapped? Abducted by aliens? Who knows?

Georgina competes in the Miss International
Pageant and fails to make the cut as well. Rumors
circulate that the pageant organizers and Miriam
had a falling out. So what else is new?

Year 2000 Pageant night arrives. New batch of winners. Miriam and Georgina both present to crown their successors minus the still missing Lalaine Edson. Whew, what a year!

MIRIAM QUIAMBAO MAKES WAVES IN THE
MISS UNIVERSE PAGEANT IN TRINIDAD AND
TOBAGO! MIRIAM IS FIRST RUNNER-UP !!!

HOT ! HOT !

So this is what training in
Venezuela can do! The
'Osmel' magic is definitely
working! GO GIRL !!! Sorry, nobody can get a
10.00, not even BoDerek!

Miriam Quiambao was definitely the surprise of the year. Surpassing all hypes and expectations, she nearly won the crown. Gosh, and what a high that was! She had it all, never mind if she blew the final
interview, still she accomplished none of her predecessors ever did!

Miriam Quiambao
Miss Philippines
Universe 1999
1st Runner-up
Miss Universe 1999

Miriam and her now signature 'hands on hips' pose that seems to have worked very well. Not to mention the very much copied Halston one shouldered gown she
wore that inspired so many contestants in the Miss Universe 2000 pageant to do the same. Hey, talk about setting a worldwide trend!

The decade of the 90's is best summarized in the reign of Ruffa Gutierrez and Miriam Quiambao. Ruffa had the interview skills, the poise and the facial beauty. Miriam had the elegance, the moves, the stage presence and the charisma. Combine all those attributes in one contestant and you'll get that close to perfection as you can possibly get.

SO WHAT IS MISSING?

So many gorgeous ladies! Most of them are intelligent, well educated, refined and are the 'cream of the crop.' So why do the three major international crowns still remain elusive to the modern day Filipina?

Filipinas need to develop their interview skills! A girl who speaks
well and is able to capture both the attention and imagination of the audience will always fare better than the prettiest girl on campus!

Ruffa is one example. She was not only fluent, but articulate as well. Speaking is not only about content, but also the right choice of words! People are always drawn to either
what makes them think or what touches their emotions! Remember, you gotta be able to talk!

- Heimlich

GHTSPOTLIGHTSPOT

THE SEXY, ALLURING AND CONTROVERSIAL LALAINE EDSON

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A SMILE TO LIGHT A LONELY NIGHT

Lalaine Edson
Miss Philippines World 1999

Lalaine Edson was expected by so many people to at least reach the top ten in the Miss World Pageant of 1999. She had everything going for her : mestiza looks, thanks to her Eurasian background, good speaking skills, and a Venezuela training
to back her up.

Come pageant night, though she did very well, the judges just didn't see her amidst
all the other girls who were competing. Though we will never really know why, I guess she was so disappointed with the outcome that going back to the Philippines didn't sound so encouraging.

Never the less, here's another beauty the country should credit as having represented them very well. Controversies aside, Lalaine deserves all the credit we can give her.

SENDING CANDIDATES TO VENEZUELA FOR TRAINING, YES OR NO? JUDGE FOR YOURSELVES!

It worked for Miriam, why not? Looking back
at the 1999 Miss Universe Pageant Finals, the Venezuela training was so evident in Miriam's performance. Not that it was the sole winning factor, but I believe it definitely helped a lot! After all, athletes train for the Olympics, why
not pageant contestants as well? Miss Universe after all, is still a competition regardless of all the redefinitions they blab about.

Looking at Lalaine's picture above, I cannot help but notice the transformation. I guess the secret to the 'Venezuelan magic' is in the packaging. Though a girl may be pretty and all but if not presented right, she doesn't make an impact or lasting impression at all.

Yes, I do recommend sending our delegates to Venezuela for training but only up to such a
time when the pageant organizers can take it upon themselves to train our beauties using the same methods the Venezuelans use. Why not
use Miriam or Lalaine for a start since they've both been there?