Story of Friendship in Miss Bohol 2014

Here’s the interesting story behind those photos Miss Dauis & Miss Panglao as they laughed and hugged each other during the last few moments before the name of the 2014 Miss Bohol was to e revealed.

The two girls actually forged an intimate friendship during the Miss Bohol series of activities. Since both girls were representing the two municipalities that make up Panglao Island, the two ended up going home together. They both became confidantes, shoulders to cry on and advisers on affairs of the heart and pageant tips.

 

 Last Two Standing: Miss Panglao & Miss Dauis

Both ladies represented the two towns that make up Panglao Island

But here’s an even more interesting story.:

At the height of the excitement & the suspense as Miss Panglao and Miss Dauis awaited the final announcement that would confirm their final placements, their huge delegations composed of townmates  had their own friendly competition as to the loudest cheers and the longest hurrahs.

 

Dauis Mayor Marietta Sumaylo (2nd from L) & Panglao Mayor Nila Montero (4th from left)
Also in photo: Your Blogger, Fashion designer Shanon Pamaong, Fiel Angeli Gabin & Cielo Gabin

What could have turned into an ugly fracas did not and would not be possible because Dauis Mayor Marietta Sumaylo and Panglao Mayor Nila Montero, the girls’ respective town mayors displayed acts of sportsmanship and displays of the innate friendliness of Boholanos. 

Both lady mayors had the time of their lives as they basked in the honor that their beauty delegates had given to their towns.

Such display of friendship is the essence of the whole Bohol Sandugo Festival which commemorates history and celebrates friendship

Cheers everyone!

Photo Credits: Nestor Daarol & Fiel Angeli Gabin

2003 Miss Bohol Sandugo: Fatima Llora Rana Part Two

ELEGANT EVENING GOWN COMPETITION

The Evening Gown Competition, the penultimate round of the pageant before the cut to the semifinals was made came next

The standouts for the sophisticated and elegant way they presented themselves were Miss Calape and Miss Tagbilaran City

The best gowns however belonged to Miss Jagna and Miss Talibon.

Miss Jagna wore a refreshingly different type of gown that was so ahead of its time. The choice of cyan, a non- traditional pageant color plus the fabric and its print design and cut made it stand out altogether.

Three years after it appeared in Miss Bohol Sandugo, a similar gown in green color was seen worn by Miss Paraguay Lourdes Arevalo in the 2006 Miss Universe Pageant where she emerged 3rd Runner Up  

 2003 vs 2006

2003 versus 2013

Miss Talibon wore a gown that had a polarizing effect among pageant fans.

Majority of fans had mixed reactions towards it when it first came out but ten years later it resurfaced with the 2013 Miss USA winner Erin McBrady of Colorado wearing a gown of a similar cut and design

Anna Maris Arcay Igpit however was in an entirely different league . The moment she made her appearance in a white evening gown that contrasted nicely with her exotic morena complexion, everyone agreed that she would run away with the Best in Evening Gown award

It was no surprise then when she was asked to step forward to receive her Best in Evening Gown trophy and sash

THE SENSATIONAL SEVEN

They were Miss Panglao, Miss Tagbilaran City, Miss Jagna, Miss Ubay, Miss Talibon, Miss Maribojoc and Miss Calape

Faye picked the question "How can you find true peace and happiness?"

She simply answered " The key to true peace and happiness is knowing yourself better"

THREE FINALISTS. ONE COMMON QUESTION

 It was now down to the last final cut before Miss Bohol Sandugo 2003 would be crowned.

Making the final round were Anna Maris Igpit of Panglao, Fatima Liora Rana of Jagna and Sheena Marie Cubillo of Calape

It was now down- to- the- wire finish and the final outcome depended on how the final question would be handled by the three finalists

The Final Question:

                     

What Boholana trait would you like to change in the new millennium?

 With pageant emcee Neil Saletrero

Faye's winning answer: 

"The Boholana trait that I would like to change in the new millennium is being very conservative because in this fast-changing world,we need to be competitiveTo be competitive, we need to go with the flow so we will not be left behind empty-handed.

THE MOMENT OF TRUTH

As I have repeatedly mentioned in my pageant blogs, winning or placing in a pageant is a matter of Luck, Destiny & Timing.

Even though one of the strongest candidates and because of the Law in Mathematics & Statistics, Miss Calape Sheena Marie Cubillo settled for 2nd RU

The 1st Runner Up was Miss Panglao Anna Maris Igpit who was sponsored by Alona Tropical Beach Resort and Dumaluan Beach Resort

Named the 2003 Miss Bohol Sandugo was Fatima Faye Llora Rana who became the fourth Jagnaanon beauty to win the Miss Bohol Sandugo crown thus effectively making Jagna the town with the most number of Miss Bohol Sandugo crowns.

Nine year later, another Jagnaanon, Idy Casenas Cagas made it five for Jagna, a record that would most likely remain for a long long time

 Bohol Provl Administrator Atty Jun Amora &
Bohol First Lady Ma'am Greenie Aumentado

 JAGNA MAYOR Hon. Exuperio Lloren & First Lady Nimfa Lloren
with the Top Three.  I have always admired how the Lloren couple
supports their Miss Bohol candidate

 PAGEANT MENTOR: with Rio Bernadas,
one of Jagna's top pageant experts & stylists

ANNA MARIS IGPIT

Two years later, Anna Maris Igpit competed again in Miss Bohol Sandugo and this time, she was crowned the winner.

For the record, Anna Maris is the second Miss Bohol Sandugo titleholder to win the crown in her second attempt.

The first was Maria Nina Cubillo who first joined in 1997 and won the crown after competing again in 1999

Anna Maris Igpit represented the province of Bohol in the 2006 Bb. Pilipinas Beauty Pageant where she was crowned Bb. Pilipinas- World thus making history as the first Boholana to win a Bb. Pilipinas crown

SHEENA MARIE CUBILLO

Sheena Marie Cubillo was crowned the 2006 Miss Pintados Festival Queen of Leyte.

Click here for more photos & details on the 2006 Miss Pintados Festival Queen Story

She is now based in California, USA as a nurse

FATIMA LLORA RANA

Fatima graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Commerce Major in Banking & Finance degree from Holy Name University on October 2006.

She is presently based in Manila and connected with ETRADE Financial as Operations Representative for the Correspondence Dept

Named the 2003 Miss Bohol Sandugo was Fatima Faye Llora Rana who became the fourth Jagnaanon beauty to win the Miss Bohol Sandugo crown thus effectively making Jagna the town with the most number of Miss Bohol Sandugo crowns.

Nine year later, another Jagnaanon, Idy Casenas Cagas made it five for Jagna, a record that would most likely remain for a long long time

2003 Miss Bohol Sandugo Story Part 1

Photo Credits:

Rio Bernados 

2003 Miss Bohol Sandugo: Fatima Rana

She would always be remembered as the only Miss Bohol Sandugo titleholder to have won over a future Bb. Pilipinas titleholder. So who is she? Let's backtrack first and go back to July 12, 2003

PARTING IS SUCH SWEET SORROW

Finally, after being staged at the Holy Name University Gymnasium, considered by many as home to Bohol's most prestigious beauty competition for so many years and as far people can remember, its only home save for one or two editions when the pageant was staged at the Bohol Cultural Center and at the CPG Sports Complex, Miss Bohol Sandugo and Holy Name University parted ways.

Both the pageant and the venue had led parallel lives since their inception.

Just like the pageant which had changed names from Miss Bohol to Most Beautiful Boholana to Miss Young Bohol to Mutya sa Bohol then to Miss Bohol Fiesta Islands before becoming what has been known as Miss Bohol Sandugo for the past 20 years, the venue had also changed names from Holy Name College to Divine Word College before finally becoming Holy Name University, Bohol's leading Catholic learning institution

That year, Miss Bohol Sandugo bid farewell to Holy Name University and said hello to Bohol Wisdom School, its new home but the hoped for long and stable relationship would abruptly end after three years.

Those three years however would always be considered as some of the best editions in the pageant's history.

Well, some good things never last.

There were 13 official candidates and getting the loudest buzz were:

Sixteen year old Anna Maris Igpit, the tall and exotic Boholana whose participation was sponsored by the Montero family's Alona Tropical Beach Resort and the Dumaluans' eponymously named resort both in Panglao, Bohol

Sheena Marie Cubillo, the very pretty and brainy Calape charmer whose poise, personality and elegance during the Miss Calape Pageant were talked about even before the Miss Bohol Pageant started

The very charming and very candid Fatima Rana whose bedimpled smile never fails to light up the stage 

and Miss Tagbilaran 2004 Rhoda Lee Ligan who exuded not only elegance and grace onstage but also noted for her facility with the English language which she speaks in a calm and modulated manner

OPENING SALVO

 Thirteen ladies. One crown 

The opening number is considered as the next most important part of a beauty pageant next to the final question and answer portion

This is where the crucial first impression on the candidates are made and done by the judges and audience alike and most often than not, this is the part that effectively seals the fate of the girls going into the next phases of the competition.

With so many beautiful girls onstage, one has to stand out to get noticed by the judges

 

After the Opening Salvo which included the introduction of the candidates, the first set of special awards was given

 Fatima Rana 

THE BIKINI STEALS THE SHOW

Finally, the much- awaited Swimsuit Competition where the two piece or bikini will be making its second official appearance in Miss Bohol pageant history

The Swimsuit Competition has always been the main target of feminists and radicals who have been branding pageants as exploitative and degrading to women

On the contrary, the swimsuits are empowering and liberating to women for it gives them the liberty to be in control and to be comfortable with their bodies.

Rather than cater to the baser and more prurient interest among men, the swimsuit competition actually highlights physical fitness and showcases the beauty and symmetry of womanhood  with the candidates who actually take care of themselves being amply rewarded

Adjudged Best in Swimsuit was the curvaceous Sheena Marie Cubillo of Calape

 Miss Jagna wins her second special award: Miss Photogenic

Click for the 2003 Miss Bohol Sandugo Story Part II

Photo Credits:

Rio Bernados 

Tagbilaran Marks City Fiesta 2013

The City Government of Tagbilaran and the Cathedral Parish of Saint Joseph the Worker are embarking on collaborative efforts for this year’s celebration of the feast of Saint Joseph the Worker on May 1 dubbed “Pit Senor San Jose! Viva San Jose! Viva Tagbilaran!” 

DAILY NOVENA

Starting TODAY, Monday, April 22 with the daily novena at 4:30 P.M., followed by a holy mass at 5:30 P.M. at the Cathedral and the nightly activities at 7:30 P.M. at the Tagbilaran Port.

The activities are aimed at reviving, preserving and promoting the city’s significant tradition and unique cultural heritage, in cognizance with Executive Order No. 2 Series of 2013 which created the City Council for Culture and the Arts. 

FLUVIAL PARADE:

On April 29, from 2:00 to 6:00 P.M., the statues of Saint Joseph, Mother Mary and Santo Nino comprising the Holy Family will be featured during the fluvial procession from Manga Port to Sitio Ubos, Poblacion I. 

SAULOG TAGBILARAN:

On April 30, the first-ever “Saulog Tagbilaran,” a religion-based cultural activity, bringing to the fore the life of Saint Joseph, the City’s patron saint, as a loving father and devoted worker and the local devotees’ way of paying homage and thanksgiving. 

The streetdancing also intends to drumbeat the 250th anniversary of the Cathedral Parish of Saint Joseph the Worker in 2017. 

STREET DANCING PARTICIPANTS

The 9 contingents - Bool, Booy, Cabawan, Cogon, Manga, Mansasa, Poblacion I, Poblacion 2 and Ubujan - shall assemble along the Old City Hall at 12:00 noon. 

STREET DANCING ROUTE:

The streetdancing shall kick off at 1:00 p.m., turning left at C. Gallares Street, turning right at B. Inting Street, proceeding right to CPG Avenue along City Square, turning right at J.S. Torralba near Plaza Rizal, making a left turn at E. Sarmiento fronting the Cathedral, turning left at J. A. Clarin Street leading towards the Tagbilaran City Hall Compound... 

Hapit na jud ang fiesta sa Tagbilaran (May 1), the opening salvo of the month-long fiesta season of Bohol

by Fiel Angeli Araoarao Gabin

Tagbilaran City Information Officer

Photo Credits: Roger O. Gatal

Miss Bohol Sandugo Without Raul Gatal

As emcee for some of Bohol's most prestigious beauty competitions and high- profile events, I cannot avoid being the subject of intense scrutiny and sometimes, malicious talks that undermine my capability to host and question my professionalism and alleged "unholy alliance" with some candidates

I am reprinting here an interview with lifestyle columnist Leo Udtohan that got published in one of our community newspapers in Bohol  

MISS BOHOL SANDUGO WITHOUT RAUL PHILLIP GATAL

by Leo Udtohan

Is he or isn’t he? Talks are swirling that perennial pageant host Raul Phillip Gatal is not hosting this year’s edition of Miss Bohol Sandugo after allegations of favoritism and bias towards certain candidates surfaced after the Miss Tagbilaran 2010 pageant had been concluded.

Twenty years after he emceed in 1990 his first Miss Bohol Sandugo pageant won by Tiffany Yap of Jagna who incidentally was the winner also of the first major pageant he emceed, the 1989 Campus Girl Quest, Raul is still at it and on top of the game as pageant emcee but with the recent turn of events, he just might bid goodbye to a colorful and illustrious hosting career within the tumultuous yet glamorous world of pageantry. 

Photo above shows your blogger during his second hosting gig for Miss Earth when the international pageant went to Bohol for its pre- pageant in 2005. The first was in 2002

He has been Bohol’s top male emcee for 20 years and that bespeaks of his durability, longevity and endurance.

with Miss Philippines- Fire 2005 Shiela Alonso during the
2005 Miss Earth Preliminary Talent Contest held at the MetroCentre Hotel
Tagbilaran City, Bohol, October 13, 2005

Let us wait with bated breath if indeed Raul will still be hosting this year’s Miss Bohol Sandugo or not.

WILL YOU BE HOSTING THIS YEAR’S MISS BOHOL SANDUGO OR NOT?

I would rather not say anything. Let’s just adopt the wait and see attitude. Let’s find out on July 23 if I would still be the emcee or not. Let the organizers and the viewing public decide if I should still be up there with the girls or make a graceful exit already.

during the 2009 Miss Tagbilaran Pageant

ANYTHING TO SAY ABOUT THE CONTROVERSY?

I have one word to say about my detractors: Sourgrapes. I believe that they would be singing a different tune had their bets won. 

By the way, these things, meaning these intrigues, always surface year in and year out because we take our pageants in Bohol seriously. 

With regards to their allegations, do they have proof? What is their basis? They can actually be sued because they have besmirched my reputation already. 

In fact, I am hurting form all their innuendos. The sad thing is I don’t even know who I’m dealing with. I would like to address their hallucinations point by point:

1. I confirmed my hosting stint for the 2010 Miss Tqgbilaran pageant just two days before the pageant because I was supposed to go to Hong Kong on the pageant date for the Channel 21 Star World Hollywood VIP Access Co- Host Search Final Audition where I was one of the 50 Finalists. So how can I possibly have access with the candidates?

2. With regards to the allegation of bias and favoritism and leakage of questions, I admit that we (Carleen Yap, my co- host and I) briefed the girls on the possible questions that might be asked during the Casual Interview but to say that we spoonfed the girls with the answers is too much because we’re very spontaneous with what we ask. It would also be an insult to the girls because most of them were amazing, candid, and articulate

3. During the Final Interviews, it was my co- host who asked the final questions. I just announced the names of the finalists. 

4. I have nothing to gain but everything to lose if I do anything stupid. Why would I risk the reputation and credibility that I have built up and protected for the past 20 years?

5. So even if I favor a certain candidate, I just keep it to myself to maintain neutrality and professionalism. Let me remind everyone that the emcee cannot influence the judges with regards to whoever would be crowned as the queen. 

Who am I? Am I that powerful? I’m just the emcee who tries to liven up the pageant. 

To be honest , being a pageant host is a thankless job because we can’t please everyone and because recognition and appreciation for our efforts in coming up with a great show has always been elusive.

the controversial Q & A with Fer Mary Baliquig
during the 2010 Miss Tagbilaran Beauty Pageant

YOUR REACTION THAT THE SHOW WANTS A FRESH, YOUNG AND NEW HOST?

I’ve always believed that no one is indispensable and that includes me…I am always on the look out for younger, fresher and newer talents so that they can be given the same opportunities that I have been given..

HAVE YOU FOUND YOUR HEIR APPARENTS?

We actually have a lot of new talents who only need a little push and guidance. 

I always base my choices on potential and not on performances…

To mention a few, we have Mike Montanez, Ferome Jusgorge Almine and Kristofer Ferniz…

MOST MEMORABLE PAGEANTS HOSTED?

The 1989 Miss College of Arts & Sciences of the then- DWCT now Holy Name University (where I now teach English & Mass Communication subjects) for two reasons; One, it was my very FIRST pageant hosting job and two, because it was with one of my favorite co- hosts, Fiel Angeli Araoarao Gabin, Miss Tagbilaran 1987

The 2002 Miss Earth Pre- Pageant is also memorable because more than 60 international beauty delegates from around the world participated thus earning for me the distinction of being the first and only Boholano to have hosted an international beauty pageant. 

This was followed by the 2005 Miss Earth Talent Competition held again here in Bohol.

hosting the 2009 Miss Bohol Sandugo Pageant with PBB Housemate Cathy Remperas

NUMBER OF PAGEANTS HOSTED?

I have lost count already but I was able to host Miss Tagbilaran for ten times , the Miss Bohol Sandugo for eight times and the Miss Bohol International twice

during the 2010 Miss Tagbilaran Pageant with
Carlene Angelica P. Yap, 2009 Miss Bohol International

MOST UNFORGETTABLE BEAUTY QUEEN?

Who could ever forget Talie Tallo- Inting? The beauty queen- turned- lawyer would always be remembered for her charm, candor and confidence during the 1997 Miss Tagbilaran Q & A. 

When asked why she wanted to be a lawyer, she wittily replied” 

I want to be a lawyer because I love to argue with people especially if I know that I’ve already won the argument. Want to argue with me, Raul?” 

Talie was eventually crowned Miss Tagbilaran and Miss Bohol Sandugo that same year