Cebuanas reign in 2014

CEBU, Philippines – The year that was shall be wonderfully remembered as the resurgence of the Cebuana in the national beauty contest arena, making more aspirants this side of the country hungrier than ever to bring home the same honor.

We reckon no one will raise an eyebrow if Cebu will be bestowed the title of 2014’s Pageant Powerhouse, as one Bisdak charmer to another reigned supreme in their respective endeavors – keeping our pageant watch calendar busier than ever.

It’s always been a source of pride how Cebuana candidates, save a few, often register among many avid pageant followers as not only attractive, but intelligent ladies who are often articulate speakers. These winning qualities, they say, have been an automatic expectation when one wears the province’s sash.

Kris Tiffany Janson began the winning streak in March when she nabbed the first Binibining Pilipinas Intercontinental crown. Tagged by ardent pageant bloggers as the only finalist assured of any of the five Binibini crowns at stake, the former Miss Cebu went on to place second runner-up in the Miss Intercontinental 2014 finals held December in Magdeburg, Germany. Pending the 63rd Miss Universe results where MJ Lastimosa is set to compete (finals on January 25), Janson has the highest placement so far among her fellow Binibini 2014 queens.

In April, Steffi Rose Aberasturi kept Cebu’s track record intact in the Reyna ng Aliwan pageant, being the sixth consecutive Cebuana to have nabbed the title. The Miss Mandaue and Sinulog Festival Queen winner is said to be focusing on her studies at the moment, and will conquer the pageant world once again when she’s riper for a bigger stage.

The 2014 harvest continued with Jamie Herrell’s triumph in Miss Philippines Earth. In November, she made her date with destiny as the country’s (and Cebu’s) second Miss Earth winner.

Teen model Vanessa Mae Walters also became a hometown pride after bagging the Miss Teen Earth Philippines 2014 title.  A half-Cebuana, half-Kiwi likewise made waves the other side of the globe: Arielle Diane Garciano, whose father hails from Poro, Camotes, was declared Miss World New Zealand 2014.

Pediatrician Stephanie Tiro-Sitoy emerged victorious in Mrs. Globe Philippines 2014, and rigidly prepared for the Mrs. Globe December finals in China. Alas, it wasn’t meant to be, as a product endorsement reportedly gave Mrs. Philippines Globe organizers reason to dethrone the mom of three.

Eva Psychee Patalinjug bounced back hugely from an almost-Miss Cebu win (she’s reigning first runner-up) by snatching the Mutya ng Pilipinas Asia Pacific International 2014 crown. The registered nurse is scheduled to leave January 8 for Qingdao, People’s Republic of China to represent the Philippines in the Top Model of the World tilt.

Rogelie Catacutan, another former Miss Cebu runner-up, quietly won Miss Casino Filipino 2014 in Manila, and is now neck-deep in training for Binibining Pilipinas 2015 under the Kagandahang Flores-Cebu camp.

And if what we’ve heard is true, Catacutan won’t be the sole Cebuana preparing to screen for Binibining Pilipinas 2015 – Miss Cebu winner Namrata Neesha Murjani is said to be joining this year, while Miss World Philippines semifinalist Gazini Christiana Ganados is still mulling whether to try her luck in the same prestigious pageant or not.

As we cross our fingers for another bountiful harvest of 2015 crowns for the Cebuana, we also whisper a prayer to one other beauty queen (who’s made our province and country proud) as she has been reportedly fighting through a health scare the past months.