My Top 5 Binibining Cebu 2017 candidates

CEBU, Philippines — (The Freeman’s indefatigable lifestyle writer/photographer, Yasunari Ramon Taguchi, got face time with all 54 Binibining Cebu 2017 candidates as he shot videos of the girls for the newspaper’s Facebook page. Having seen each finalist up close and personal, having observed them gather their thoughts and speak on their feet, we felt he was in the best position to dish out on who he felt were strong contenders.– Ed)

Overall reason why these are my bets: smart girls, who can transliterate their thoughts into coherent sentences without trying to be something that they are not.

Asturias – There’s an old saying that goes “if beauty is truth, then plastic surgery is the fountain of youth.” With Samantha Ashley Lo, the locution is made dumbfounded on the way to its raspy second half, as rarely can one single out a beauty who embodies the “beauty is truth” ideal.

Bantayan – Though she could further sharpen her wit by looking into the wisdom in the axiom “words are the coins in the realm of thought, so always spend them wisely,” Maria Gigante is bound to bring a lot to the title should she clinch the first Binibining Cebu crown.

Dalaguete – Lou Dominique Piczon strikes me as a girl who, if given a task, will do what she can to pull it off with the best of her capacities. Should she be asked to, say, set up a construction scaffolding, she’d most likely Google for instructions and ditch polling friends on Facebook for crowdsourced info.

Liloan – There’s an inimitably Cebuana appeal to Maria Theresa Enoc – one which can be pinned down into one earmarkable “X-factor.” It’s ambivalently subvert and overt in the way it cuts against pageant stereotypes, but it keenly underscores the puritanical variables inherent in the beauty queen modicum.

Santa Fe – The appealing factor about Natasha Angela Manuel is that she can stand out or be lost in the crowd, outshine or shine along with, be the star or take on the supporting actor role. This may not come as what’s being sought for in a beauty queen, but this distinctly makes her stand out as one who defies the predictable – something that is beautiful in and by itself. (FREEMAN)