Winwyn silences her doubters

Now that Winwyn Marquez has won the Reina Hispanoamericana title (the first non-Hispanic beauty and Asian to do so), will her bashers let up on her and allow her to bask in her triumph?

Winwyn’s bashers never gave her the chance when she won the local counterpart of the crown. Even noted fashion guru Renee Salud predicted that Winwyn will come out as a loser in the competition held in Bolivia.

But Winwyn proved all her bashers and detractors wrong. She was on top of her game. She did very well in every phase of the competition, nailing the crown with her beautiful answer to the final question.

It was the first time for the Philippines to join the said pageant and Winwyn made history with her victory. When she won the right to represent the Philippines in the said pageant, some people dismissed it as a so-so pageant just because they never heard of it. With Winwyn taking home the crown, there is now awareness.

No matter what her bashers say, the girlfriend of Mark Herras came out triumphant. As they say, everybody loves a winner. But if Winwyn’s bashers are not happy, then that is their problem.

Alma Moreno and Joey Marquez are of course proud of their daughter’s triumph. Now that she is a certified international beauty queen, will Winwyn resume her showbiz career when her reign is over?

Will there be a motorcade for the actress around the metro when she returns? We remember Miriam Quiambao was given a motorcade when she won first runner-up in Miss Universe years ago. Winwyn, we believe, deserves one.

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If you are star or celebrity who is fond of patronizing beauty clinics for keeping your face, body and skin beautiful, then you will surely not like the proposed tax measure to be levied on luxury beauty treatments.

Some celebrities flock to beauty clinics for enhancement. Celebrities should always look good that’s why they take good care of their skin. If they accumulate fat on their body, they undergo medical procedure to get rid of the unwanted pounds. Stars owe it to their audience to look good always.

No wonder there is an outcry from showbiz folk regarding the proposal of Senator Sonny Angara to impose excise taxes “on cosmetic procedures, surgeries and body enhancements undertaken for aesthetic reasons.” The tax being proposed is said to be equivalent to 20 percent of the actual bill for services rendered by the cosmetic surgeon.

Flawless, a high-profile business, has publicly expressed its displeasure on Instagram about the current issue on taxes being proposed on all luxury beauty treatments and products.  

They posted, “At Flawless, we see beauty as a powerful tool that helps people feel and function better as they go about their everyday lives. Highly taxing cosmetics and beauty service is unjust, unconstitutional, oppressive and discriminatory to hardworking Filipino consumers. As a Filipino brand that believes in bringing out the best in everyone, here’s our Flawless appeal: Give us a break and don’t tax my beauty.”  

While clientele of cosmetic clinics span a wide bracket of income-earners, Flawless believes that the decision to be beautiful is a right and a privilege that shouldn’t be oppressed and its consumers should not be discriminated.  

The bill is being pushed by Sen. Angara and is contained in Section 30 of Senate Bill 1592. It comes in the wake of the news that luxury cars will have additional taxes too, and its implementation starts next year.  

If this tax measure pushes through, it will not only affect celebrities but also ordinary people who patronize beauty clinics to keep themselves beautiful. Keeping yourself beautiful is not just for vanity. Sometimes, you need it for your job.

The beauty clinics are crying foul because they feel they are being singled out due to the tax measure. They say there are other things that need to be taxed. Why single out beauty clinics who only want to make people beautiful?

If they push for higher taxes, then celebrities who are fond of beautifying themselves will be on the losing end. Do we need to name names?