In focus: Binibining Badian

CEBU, Philippines — We’re thinking this crowd darling is just pulling our leg when she confides to still getting nervous on stage.

You wouldn’t know it by the way she effortlessly works a runway and executes her now signature projection that comes off so naturally, methinks she can practically do this while asleep. Give this girl a sack cloth to wear and she’ll make it seem like haute couture. Put her on stage with a dozen other beauties and your eyes will most probably rivet back to this tall drink of water.

So who’s to believe that underneath that she was all butterflies inside? “I also have the same question,” Apriel says. “Maybe getting nervous helps me stay focused and brings out the best in me. My go-to each time I get nervous is to always do my best to inject fun in what I’m doing.”

Apriel, one of the most popular Binibining Cebu candidates, modestly shares that she may be among the most experienced in pageantry, but that this is “never an assurance for me to be in the safe spot, simply because I have a lot of things to work on. Grace under pressure is a playful thing to do because no matter how experienced I am, I still feel nervous up on stage.”

With or without jitters, this is Apriel’s vow come coronation night: “Never take your eyes away from me because I will rock the stage.”

A towering beauty at five-foot-nine and a sports enthusiast (her dad is the late professional basketball player Daryl Smith; her sports include volleyball, running, high jump and electric ball jump), Apriel has already also racked up several beauty pageant titles such as Miss Milo Little Olympics 2010, Miss Dumanjug 2011, Miss Cebu City Olympics 2012, Sinulog Festival Queen 2012, Miss Mandaue 2013 third runner-up, Miss San Fernando 2015 second runner-up, Miss Badian Tourism 2015, Bb. Pilipinas 2016 Top 15 finalist and Reyna ng Aliwan 2017 first runner-up.

Beyond her height, looks and runway skills, Apriel says her strongest suit is “putting perseverance in all the things I do, because I always find self-fulfillment each time I surpass the things I consider difficult.”

One of these difficult things that she’s had to recently overcome was surviving the jungle that is Manila, after taking the biggest risk of her young life so far by transferring base in the capital as part of the deal of being an Aces and Queens talent.

“I grew up in Cebu and it’s never easy to step out from my comfort zone,” says Apriel. “It was a risk for me because there is always this fear: What if it will not turn out the way I expected it?”

Her realizations in navigating the big city? “What I’ve learned from staying in Manila is that being independent, strong and goal-oriented are the three things that helped me face my day to day living. Though I am far from my family, my Aces and Queens family is always there checking up on me and helping me with anything that I find difficult (this is mostly in getting from one place to another). Being part of Aces and Queens is an honor and a blessing.”

Her mom a being a tour guide and having taken up Tourism Management at the University of San Carlos, Bb. Cebu’s thrust of promoting Cebu is right up Apriel’s alley. With the government seeming to exhaust all means of selling the country as a premiere tourist location, does Apriel agree that responsible tourism is something we should practice more instead of advertising the country for others to consume and take advantage of?  

“My thoughts on that is simply the same with love,” she begins. “It should start with loving ourselves before loving others. Promoting your own barangay, town or municipality is already contributing to the big picture of promoting the country.”

If she could bring an influential person to Badian, Apriel will choose to take advantage of the power of social media. “I will bring or invite local and international vloggers to Badian’s Kawasan Falls, Badian Island, mangroves, Lambug Beach. I will also let them try canyoneering. These personal experiences from the tour will surely be channeled to their viewers all around the world.”

Beckoning everyone to go visit Badian, Apriel declares: “Badian, just like other Cebu towns, is starting to soar as a tourist destination. It has already gained fame not just in the country but also in the world because of Kawasan Falls, Badian Island, Lambug beach, plus its mangroves, nature adventure including canyoneering. And its people welcome you with a big smile.” (FREEMAN)