1996 Miss Bohol Sandugo: Lianne Reyes Canoy

1996 Miss Bohol Sanduo & Her Court with the emcees 

The 1996 edition of Miss Bohol Sandugo promised to be the most spectacular production of the province's most prestigious beauty competition. After all, it was to be handled by the Bohol Jaycee Family composed of the following; Bohol Sandugo Jaycees, Pastillas Lady Jaycees, Chocolate Hills Lady Jaycees, Jagna "Ilihan" Jaycees, Garcia "Limestone" Jaycees, Bohol Junior Jaycees, Bohol Jaycee President Club, Bohol Associate Jaycees & the Jayceerettes

Talking of experience, the original Bohol Jaycees held the franchise for Bb. Pilipinas- Bohol and appointed by no less than Madame Stella Marquez Araneta herself during the 60's decade. On the other hand, the Chocolate Hills Lady Jaycees had been mounting the annual Mutya sa Tagbilaran from 1989 to year 1996 that year and eventually until year 200

What was expected to be a scintillating showstopper turned out to be the most controversial Miss Bohol Sandugo Pageant ever and almost resulted in a near- walkout by some municipal delegations and the judges themselves. This is not to malign nor denigrate the efforts of the organizers but to serve as a cautionary tale. 

But that's getting ahead of the story. 

The beautiful Miss Guindulman Susan Anadon Sy 

July 14, 1996. It was the Coronation Night for Miss Bohol Sandugo and as expected, the HNU Gym was overflowing with pageant spectators & supporters.

The night before, the Talent Competition was held at the UB Gym

MISS TALENT

The Talent Night belonged to Miss Bilar Geraldine Bojo who simply wowed the audiences and judges with her mellifluous voice and showmanship.

Gigi, as called by friends including this blogger, who emerged 4th RU and Miss Talent in the competition, is now a sought after entertainer in corporate affairs and social occasions like weddings and debuts. In fact, I featured her in an earlier blog.

Here's the link:

 Gigi & Jun of Bohol Jazz Duo

Your Blogger with Gigi Bojo : 1996 and 2012

 These photos show me and Gigi Bojo. The left photo was in 1996 and photo to the right was taken in 2912

PAGEANT EMCEES

Your Boholano Blogger and Scarlet Pizarras were the pageant emcees and we still remember the criteria used for the pageant:

Casual Wear Competition    20%

Personal Interviews                 20%

Swimsuit Competition           20%

Evening Gown Competition 20%

The judges were to rate the girls with scores ranging from 80 to 95. Very easy, right? Well, not really. You see, it turned out that during the Talent Night (Talent was also 20% or 1/5th of the total preliminary scores) the separate panel of judges gave scores ranging from as low as 40 to as high as 99.

This would turn out to have devastating consequences on the preliminary results

PAGEANT JUDGES:

Sen. Serge or was it Mayor Tommy Osmena and the outspoken Cerge Remonde together with a Japanese technocrat, a Cebuana beauty queen and a Cebu Plaza Hotel executive composed that year's panel of judges

PAGEANT HIGHLIGHTS

After the energetic and sizzling Opening Number choreographed by Cecilio Quevedo, the girls then introduced themselves.

 Your Blogger with Miss Maribojoc Lianne Reyes Canoy

The Interviews immediately followed with the lovely Miss Guindulman Susan Anadon Sy making her mark in a memorable interview that endeared her to the judges and audience alike. She got high marks for her very candid, honest and refreshing way of expressing herself

Here's how my interview with Miss Guindulman went:

  

Emcee: What are you taking up right now?

Susan: Political Science

Emcee: Why Political Science?

Susan: Because I want to be a politician someday

Emcee: What elective position are you aiming for in the future?

Susan: I want to be the next town mayor of Guindulman Emcee: Who is your town mayor right now? I hope he is okay with this 

Susan: Our mayor is Hon. Gaudioso Ranario and he is here together with my townmates to support me

Emcee: I will give you an on-the- spot challenge tonight. Let's pretend that tonight is the miting de avance and the audience tonight are your fellow Guindulmanons. Can you do it?

Susan: Of course, Fellow Guindulmanons, standing in front of you is Susan Sy and I want to be the next mayor of our town. Give me a chance to serve the people with sincerity and with dedication. Daghang salamat (thank you)  

After the Evening Gown Competition, the recipients of the special awards were then revealed:

SPECIAL AWARD	WINNER
Miss Talent	Miss Bilar Geraldine Bojo
Miss Congeniality	Miss Sierra Bullones Claire Bustrillos
Miss Photogenic	Miss Guindulman Susan Sy
Best in Interview	Miss Guindulman Susan Sy
Best in Casual Wear	Miss Guindulman Susan Sy
Best in Swimsuit	Miss Dimiao Jane Penalosa
Best in Gown	Miss Guindulman Susan Sy

THE FIVE FINALISTS FIASCO

From 16 girls, the field was whittled down to five finalists. Getting the call were the following:

Miss Maribojoc Lianne Reyes Canoy, Miss Dimiao Jane Penalosa, Miss Anda Cherry Mae Cureg, Miss Bilar Geraldine Bojo and Miss Calape Jan Reyes

The girls then underwent the final Q & A where they randomly picked questions that were similar in nature and degree of difficulty

FAREWELL WALK

While outgoing Miss Bohol Sandugo Ira Noemi Naron of Baclayon made her final walk as Miss Bohol Sandugo, I noticed a little commotion near the judges' area. I then made my way down to check if there was a problem.

Turned out that there was a major problem. The judges were upset that two of their bets Miss Guindulman and Miss Tagbilaran were not among the five finalists.

They simply couldn't believe the outcome so they asked for the score sheets and there they pointed out the root cause of the problem.

Since there was no scoring range in the Talent Competition unlike the Pageant Night where scores can only be between 80 to 95, the five girls with the highest Talent Night scores naturally also ended up as the finalists.

Cerge Remonde (bless his soul) then gave the ultimatum, if Miss Tagbilaran and Miss Guindulman will not be called as finalists, all of the judges will stage a walkout together with Guindulman Mayor Gaudioso Ranario and fellow Guindulmanons.

After the Execom approved of the request, I then asked "How will I explain this? The final questions have been asked already" Cerge Remonde quickly replied "That's your job as emcee. Go onstage now and clean up this mess"

What happened next was to become my defining moment as pageant emcee. I simply rose to the occasion, made the seven finalists undergo another round of interviews and then announced the results as if there was nothing amiss.

Of course, credit should also go to my co- host Scarlet Pizarras whose gift of gab and nerves of steel helped save the day for everyone

What transpired that evening, I should point out was simply an oversight and not intentional.

I guess everyone learned from that experience. 

Susan Sy gave a good fight and almost gave Guindulman its second Miss Bohol title after Elizabeth Anana who won in 1988.

She may have finished as 2nd RU but she definitely, in a positive way, became the hot topic of the town for days and until now is fondly remembered as one of the most beautiful Boholanas to have ever graced the Miss Bohol stage

Susan Sy is now a New York- based nurse and fulfilling her dreams  

L-R: 4th RU, 3rd RU, 2nd RU, Miss Bohol Sandugo, 1st RU

FINAL RESULTS

Miss Bohol Sandugo Miss Maribojoc Lianne Reyes Canoy

1st Runner Up         Miss Tagbilaran Fragelle Tejano

2nd Runner Up        Miss Guindulman Susan Anadon Sy

3rd Runner Up        Miss Dimiao Jane Penalosa

4th Runner Up        Miss Bilar Geraldine Bojo

LAST TWO GIRLS: Maribojoc & Tagbilaran

Lianne Reyes Canoy confirmed her frontrunner status when she was declared Miss Bohol Sandugo under very controversial circumstances.

When asked why the judges should select her over the other finalists as the queen for that year, Lianne gave the following answer in a manner that was so straightforward, confident and convincing:

" Because I have the triple B which are beauty, brains and the body. And with that, I don't see any other reason why I shouldn't be the next Miss Bohol Sandugo"