Miss Universe Philippines Trivia & Tidbits Through the Decades

With the Miss Universe triumph of Pia Wurtzbach, the Philippines is now ranked fourth after USA, Venezuela & Puerto Rico in that order as the countries with the most number of Miss Universe crowns. The Philippines also lives up to its billing as the Pearl of the Orient Seas since it is the most successful Asian country in Miss Universe. Three Miss Universe crowns, two 1^st RU, five 3^rd RU, two 4^th RU and eight semifinalists plus special awards.

From 1952 to 1957 and 1962 to 1963, the Miss Philippines pageant was held to select the representative of the Philippines to the Miss Universe Pageant. There were no representatives from 1958- 1961. 

After the first Miss International winner Stella Marquez Araneta of Colombia got married to Filipino Jorge Araneta, she organized Bb Pilipinas Charities Inc in 1964 right after acquiring the local Miss Universe franchise and has been sending candidates from 1964 to the present without fail.

Here now are the firsts for the Philippines in Miss Universe:

 Teresita Torralba Sanchez

FIRST FILIPINA DELEGATE. Teresita Torralba Sanchez entered pageant history books as the first Filipina to have competed in Miss Universe when she was selected to be the country’s representative in the pageant’s inaugural edition in 1952. 

Teresita Torralba Sanchez was crowned Miss Philippines 1952 on April 26, 1952 by the Mayor of Manila, Arsenio Lacson at the Fiesta Pavilion of Manila Hotel. 

During the pageant finals on June 28, 1952 held at the Long Beach Municipal Auditorium, Long Beach, California, Teresita fainted but recovered before the announcement of winners.  

FIRST TOP 15 SEMIFINALIST. Maria Candida Blesilda "Bessie" Mueler Ocampo who was crowned Miss Philippines on December 19, 1953 at the Boys Town Auditorium is the first Filipina delegate to make it as top 15 semifinalist  

  Blesilda Mueler Ocampo: 1st Top 15 for RP

FIRST TOP FIVE FINALIST. Miss Philippines Lalaine Betia Bennett is the first Filipina to enter the Miss Universe Final Five. Lalaine eventually finished as 3^rd Runner-Up to Ieda Maria Vargas of Brazil. She married her official escort in the pageant, Felix Skievasky, a US Naval Officer of Polish-Filipino descent in Manila.

  Lalaine is Miss U 1963 3rd Runner Up

FIRST BB. PILIPINAS- UNIVERSE. In 1964, Maria Myrna Sese Panlilio became the first Bb Pilipinas to represent the Philippines in the Miss Universe Pageant  

FIRST MISS UNIVERSE. Gloria Diaz became the first Filipina and third Asian to win the Miss Universe Pageant after besting 60 other beauty delegates from around the world at the 18th Miss Universe pageant held at the Miami Beach Auditorium in Miami Beach, Florida, USA , July 19 1969. Outgoing queen Martha Vasconcellos of Brazil crowned Gloria Diaz.  

Incidentally, Gloria is also the first Filipina and first Miss Universe to enter the sound- proof glass booth  that made its first appearance during the final Q & A in Miss Universe 1969

FIRST SIBLINGS TO COMPETE IN MISS UNIVERSE. When Simonette Berenguer de Los Reyes represented the country in the 1970 Miss Universe Pageant, she made history with her sister Yvonne Berenguer de los Reyes as the first Filipina siblings to compete in Miss Universe. Yvonne competed in 1955

FIRST MISS PHOTOGENIC. 1971. Alluring and vivacious Vida Valentina Doria is the first Filipina to be voted Miss Photogenic by the press photographers of Miss Universe

Miss Photogenic is Miss Philippines

FIRST FILIPINA MISS UNIVERSE & MISS PHOTOGENIC WINNER. In 1973, Margarita "Margie" Moran became the first Filipina to win both the Miss Universe crown and the Miss Photogenic award. Margie is the second Miss Universe to achieve the feat. The first being Margreta Arvidsson of Sweden back in 1966.

1973 Miss Universe & Miss Photogenic

FIRST ASIAN COUNTRY TO HOST MISS UNIVERSE The Philippines became the first Asian country to host the Miss Universe Pageant in 1974. The country hosted the pageant for the second time in 1994.

FIRST SUMMA CUM LAUDE GRADUATE 1976 Lizbeth Padua. Hopes were high in 1976 when a Summa Cum Laude graduate from UP Diliman Lizbeth Padua represented the country in Hong Kong. She was however shut out from the semis thus starting the first of four years of non- placement.

FIRST BEST NATIONAL COSTUME Charlene Gonzales won the Best National Costume award in the 1994 Miss U Pageant held in Manila.

Charlene Gonzales wins Best National Costume with her Tboli costume 

FIRST CLAIROL HERBAL ESSENCES AWARD. 1999. Miriam Quiambao became the first Filipina to win the Clairol Herbal Essences Style Award for her personal style with emphasis on her healthy hair

FIRST BEST IN SWIMSUIT. Ariella Ara Arida became the first Filipina to be selected Best in Swimsuit after topping the swimsuit competition in the 2013 Miss Universe Pageant held in Moscow, Russia. She eventually finished 3^rd RU

 

 Best in Swimsuit & Fans' Favorite

FIRST FAN VOTE WINNER. In addition to the Best in Swimsuit special award, Ariella is also the first Filipina recipient of the Fan Vote Award which catapulted her into the Top 16 

FIRST MISS UNIVERSE WINNER FROM WME/ IMG.  Pia Wurtzbach holds the distinction of being the first Miss Universe winner under WME/ IMG, the new owners & management 

2012 Miss Universe: The Boholano Blogger's Review

In keeping up with its Holiday Edition theme, Miss Universe 2012 opened with Donald Trump in a Santa Claus outfit as he welcomed everyone to the 61st edition of the world's most prestigious international beauty competition as far as Filipinos are concerned. 

Donald Trump as Santa  

FOUR OF MY FIVE MADE IT

What a perfect way to cap an almost perfect conclusion of the pageant. 

Allow me also to celebrate and gloat just a little bit for I got 9 out of the 16 semifinalists in my prediction list. Of those nine beauties, seven made the Top Ten and four of them made the Final Five. 

Not bad, considering that I'm no pageant expert

Christmas- themed 2012 Miss Universe stage

Amidst the strain of familiar Christmas jingles and the eye- popping and lavish holiday- themed set design, 89 of the world's most gorgeous women sashayed onstage in mini dresses. The pre- recorded introductions of their names and countries represented was quite fast and took only a mere 10 minutes. 

Technical problems however hounded the first few girls whose names and countries weren't heard but everything was fixed after the few seconds of dead air. I'm just curious if somebody was fired for what happened

After the commercial break, the first of the three cuts before Miss Universe 2012 will be known was made. It was breathtaking and suspenseful for the whole nation wanted to know if Miss Philippines will continue its two successive placements in the pageant.

THE TOP 16 WERE AS FOLLOWS:

Miss Venezuela is the first to get the call

First to be called was Venezuela followed by Turkey, France, Peru and Russia. The next five were Mexico, Poland, Hungary, South Africa AND Philippines was called as the 10th semifinalist. 

According to my brother Mikey who was at the pageant venue in Planet Hollywood, Las Vegas, USA, pandemonium broke out as the Filipino crowd erupted into cheers and screams. 

The last five to be called were Croatia who was my ultimate favorite to win the crown then she was followed by Brazil, Kosovo, Australia and India. 

The Internet vote went to USA who was last to be called into the semifinals

BIGGEST SHOCKER

Miss U 2012 Top 16

I was quite disappointed that El Salvador, Paraguay, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Finland and Jamaica who were in my prediction list failed to advance but the biggest shocker of the night was the non- inclusion of heavy favorite Puerto Rico among the Top 16

On the other hand, I was pleasantly surprised with Peru, Turkey, Poland and Hungary

After the judges were introduced, the Swimsuit Competition followed. For me, the standouts were Venezuela, Australia, Philippines, Russia and Brazil

Fun & Flirty Venezuela

Miss Australia is a Blonde Bombshell

Miss Philippines is a Fierce & Fabulous Filipina 

From Russia with Love &  a Pair of Kilometric Legs  

Brazil is Tall & Tan & Young & Lovely 

THE TOP TEN

The next cut was then made. 

Australia was the first to be called followed by Russia, Brazil, France and Venezuela.  The second half was then called with USA followed by Hungary, South Africa.  Called as the 9th semifinalist was Mexico. 

It came down to the 10th and final spot and still no Philippines. 

Janine heaves a sigh of relief after getting the last spot in the Top Ten

I was pretty sure that it would either be Kosovo or Croatia but to my glee, it was Philippines and the whole venue reverberated with the cheers from the Filipino crowd that supported its candidate

Officially out of the race were Peru, Poland, Kosovo, Croatia, Turkey and India

The Tantalizing Ten

EVENING GOWNS:

Evening gowns was where you separated the girls from the ladies. You could tell it by the way they moved onstage with confidence and self- assuredness. Of course, the class & the elegance

In this phase of the competition, the judges looked at how the candidates carried their gowns and not at the gowns. It should be noted however that the choice of gown can make or break a candidate's chances but still its how one gives justice to the gown that is given the most weight

It is fitting then that they saved the best for last because Janine really slew the competition with her stance and overall projection despite wearing one of the least favored gowns in this segment. 

For me, the best in this category were Brazil, Australia, France, South Africa and the Philippines

  

Miss Brazil

Miss Australia

Miss France

Miss South Africa 

Miss Philippines

FINAL FIVE:

I knew that everyone wanted to find out if Janine will continue our two successive Miss Universe Top Five placements courtesy of Venus Raj 2010 and Shamcey Supsup 2011. 

I knew that she had an impeccable gown presentation but would the mediocre gown hurt her chances?

First to be called was Venezuela followed by the Philippines! 

Yehey! Australia then USA were called next. 

Rounding out the Top Five was Brazil

The Final Five

The unthinkable had just happened. 

Miss South Africa, the number one pick of the majority of pageant- related websites and predicted by most fans as the most likely to win this year's Miss Universe title and who was just a breath away from advancing to the winners' circle, had been snubbed by the judges and therefore, was officially out of contention. 

The blonde stunner who begged off from joining the 2012 Miss World Pageant so she could prepare for Miss Universe was the biggest casualty of the pageant

FINAL QUESTION

I was waiting to cringe the moment Miss Philippines would open her mouth during the Final Q & A but to everyone's amazement, Janine not only aced the Interviews but also gave one of the most memorable answers in Miss Universe history

Nigel Barker, one of the judges, asked her this question: 

"AS AN INTERNATIONAL AMBASSADOR, DO YOU BELIEVE THAT SPEAKING ENGLISH SHOULD BE A PREREQUISITE TO BEING MISS UNIVERSE? WHY OR WHY NOT?"

Janine's reply: 

"For me, being Miss Universe is not just about knowing how to speak a specific language. It's about being able to influence and inspire other people. If you have a heart to serve and a strong mind to show people then you can be Miss Universe.

She totally aced it and now I was giddy and so excited because I thought that finally,we now had an actual shot at winning the crown

THE RESULTS: 

Last Two Standing

and Miss Universe 2012 is Miss USA! 

Alas, it wasn't meant to be. It has been 39 years since we won our last Miss Universe crown but Janine's victory is reason enough for the entire country to celebrate

Thirty- nine years after, USA avenged
 its Miss Universe loss to the Philippines in 1973

Just look at that face...

Until now, I still can't believe that most people that I talk to still believe that Janine was robbed of the crown and that Miss USA wasn't deserving of the Diamond Nexus crown.

MY TAKE:

Gone are the days when the Q & A was the be all and end all in determining who gets to be crowned Miss Universe. During the Final Look segment where the final rankings are decided, the judges assign points instead of scores as they decide who gets to be Miss Universe and who will be the runners up. The ranking system eliminates the possibility that some judges might manipulate the outcome. 

The final ranking by the way is based not only on how the finalists answer the question but also on their overall performance during the entire evening AND of course, a globally appealing facial beauty because Miss Universe gets to be the endorser of the pageant's beauty product sponsors

By the way, my L.A.- based brother Mikey Gatal was featured in this news snippet from GMA7. 

Click on the link please

Mikey Gatal GMA 7 Interview

TRIVIA TIDBITS:

The Philippines is presently the only country to have placed in the Miss Universe Top Five for three consecutive years. Venus in 2010 and Shamcey last year.

Brazil placed in the Top Five for the second consecutive year

Australia has placed in Miss Universe since 2008 and currently holds the longest streak of five consecutive years followed by France with four years

Did you know that USA, Germany, France & Canada are the only countries that have been participating since 1952? 

Photo Credits: Copyright Infringement not intended