In focus: Binibining Moalboal

CEBU, Philippines — As a Grade School Guidance Counselor at Saint Louis College-Cebu, Shaira says she has the power to understand people. In her current undertaking as a Binibining Cebu candidate, she is able to understand the diversity of Cebu and her fellow finalists.

Shaira pursued Psychology at the University of San Jose-Recoletos because she discovered she can express her love for art through the course.

“Since I was kid, I knew I have a God-given talent in art. My parents helped me mold it especially my mother. I engaged in art-related activities. Later on, I figured out that I can express art differently. I can express it through studying Psychology: understanding people’s behavior and mental processes,” she says.

“I’m always interested in arts and literature. I have the heart of creativity: to speak out my mind, express myself and create my life’s masterpiece. I always give time to art through painting, sketching and even writing. It reminds me of the sensation of being and existing. It allows me to connect with my deeper self and the people whom I’m connected with and possible people I’ll meet. I didn’t pursue an art career, but the magical impact of being a Psychology graduate means a lot. Understanding humans is just like an art, it is complex but beautifully mysterious. Everyone’s life started from a blank canvas and we decide how to create our own masterpiece. My masterpiece is as unique as others. Its color, character, personality, experience and feeling can never be identical. We are lucky, we have the heart to connect and feel everything.”

As a guidance counselor, Shaira noticed that a common problem of kids nowadays is their ability to communicate. She explains, “They aren’t the generation who is left out from speaking fluently but they are the ones who can’t speak clearly what they feel. I always encourage every student to speak out. I talked to them like a friend and a sister. I don’t want to impose authority because kids fear authority figures. I always let them feel safe when they speak their mind. I believe in free will and everybody deserves that.”  

Shaira, the daughter of a businesswoman and a government employee, had previously won Miss Carcar 2014, Miss Dumanjug 2015 first runner-up and Miss Dalaguete 2016 first runner-up. She had dreamt of joining Miss Cebu, but since it was cancelled, she did not hesitate to join Bb. Cebu when her town’s mayor gave her the blessing.

She gives her piece on the beaches of Moalboal becoming victims of consumerism and irresponsible tourism. “Due to fast-paced growth of tourism in Moalboal, locals and foreigners come and go. We always take good care of the treasure of our place. We won’t allow anybody to ruin what we are known for. There are establishments that are built to accommodate people and at the same time we guard our nature thru nature preservation. We allow modernization and most of all, we continue nature preservation. Today, it is very important that modernization and nature preservation meet halfway.”

Moalboal is already popular, so what can Shaira tells us that we have yet to know about the tourist hotspot? “Moalboal is known to our country and to the world for the magnificent white sand beaches and underwater paradise. The magical reason why it became popular is because of the rich corals ‘kagasangan.’ Fishermen will never have a good catch and varied school of fishes will never inhabitant there if the corals were never good to live with. The corals are the jewel and gem of Moalboal.” (FREEMAN)