News & Events

(NOTE: This story was published as a special feature in Manila Times' 123rd anniversary issue.)

Besides basketball and boxing, it can be argued that beauty pageants enjoy the same immense, if not more powerful, support of passionate Filipino fans. Considered a pageant-crazy nation, beauty contests have long been likened to national events, with viewers glued to televisions and netizens cheering for their bet on social media and all the way to coronation night. Local, national and international.

Win or lose, pageant results will always be the talk of every huddle across the islands — be it in schools, offices, sari-sari stores and of course, ubiquitous salons. And if the win is for the Philippines, no matter the international title, all will hail the queen with a ticker-tape parade and grand homecoming in Manila and beyond.

Yes, Filipinos are the epitome of beauty pageant fanatics, and reason why local pageant organizations and franchisees are always on their toes to come up with the best production possible, year after year.

As Stella Marquez Araneta, the renowned founder and chairperson of Binibining Pilipinas Charities, Incorporated (BPCI) explains in an exclusive interview with The Manila Times Lifestyle, "Philippine pageantry is a celebration of our history and culture."

From this perspective, she furthers, "Through time, it's become a yearly tradition to spotlight not only the unique beauty of a Filipina but also the diverse culture that each of the regions and provinces of our country. It's an arena where we find the best representation of our country through girls who possess the exemplary qualities of a Filipina."

Araneta — herself a beauty queen who represented Colombia, her motherland, in the 1960 Miss Universe edition, where she placed sixth, and the inaugural Miss International competition where she made history as its very first winner — founded BPCI, a non-stock, non-profit organization, in 1964, after falling in love, marrying Jorge León Araneta, and officially making the Philippines her home.

Considered the foremost beauty pageant org in the country, BPCI has long fielded Miss Philippines candidates to the world's biggest and most coveted titles. Nonetheless, the de facto mentor of local beauty queens credits fans for her organization's success and every other title that seeks Philippine representation.

"The success of a pageant organization relies on the trust, support, and encouragement given by fans and supporters. We cannot fully explain the reason behind the clamor, but we believe pageants have a powerful role in affecting people's lives positively," Araneta notes.

When the pandemic exploded last year, BPCI was forced to postpone 2020's Binibining Pilipinas coronation night for the first time in a long while. Despite the unprecedented situation, the organization powered through and by July 2021, with safety precautions carefully put in place, Binibining Pilipinas staged a comeback at its home base in Araneta Coliseum.

Welcome diversion

"[A beauty pageant] also becomes a diversion in these troubled times," Araneta rightly acknowledges.

And so they took the task to heart and mounted a smooth and elegant production, befitting the decades' old legacy of Binibining Pilipinas.

"It was very challenging to put on a pageant given the current situation. It was quite impossible to stage a Binibining Pilipinas event the way we used to, due to several limitations," Araneta admits. But, forge ahead they did, just as the empowered women they crown each year do, and succeeded.

"We had to adjust to the 'new normal' where most of our events were moved from audience-filled venues to virtual presentations. Strategic scheduling was our key," Araneta shares with pride in the post-mortem.

More importantly, the organization united in putting a premium on the safety and well-being of the candidates and every single person involved in the pageant, above all else.

"The possibility of Covid-19 infection was our biggest fear in mounting this year's Binibining Pilipinas activities [so] we implemented strict health protocols and ensured frequent Covid testing before each activity."

Admittedly, because of the unpredictable transmissibility and mutations of the Covid-19 virus, BPCI made every effort to work within the extreme limitations (integrating the usual on-ground activities with virtual presentations, for example) in their desire to balance the satisfaction of ardent pageant fans and the priority of ensuring everyone's safety.

"It was difficult to overcome the hurdles of mounting a pageant, but we welcomed the challenge. We looked upon it as a time for creativity and resourcefulness. So, every step of the coronation night became a learning experience for the candidates, the organization, our production team, as well as the audience, in this historical edition."

But surely, the same ardent fans, the contestants and the various stakeholders of the beauty pageant would have understood had BPCI decided to further postpone the 57th edition, until more normalcy and safer circumstances are achieved amid the global crisis.

As such, The Manila Times Lifestyle finally asked its chair, "Where does this burning desire to stage the pageant come from?"

"One of the goals of Binibining Pilipinas is to empower and inspire women, and pushing through with the pageant enabled us to do that. Each of our candidates had very good and meaningful stories to share about this pandemic, and they needed a platform to do so with other people. By staging the Binibining Pilipinas this year, we were able to tell our candidates' amazing stories and spread their messages of hope for the Philippines.."

Always forward

Indeed, more than the glamour of beauty pageants, the pandemic truly highlighted the core of BPCI and the goal of the Binibining Pilipinas pageant to use the competition as a far-reaching platform for both valuable and meaningful advocacies.

"Through the success of the pageant, we were able to sustain our charity efforts and initiatives. Our winners were able to tap into industries that needed support and highlight during this pandemic."

Without a doubt, BPCI is always moving forward — fueled by confidence, beauty and a heart. And looking further ahead, they believe the lessons of mounting a contest in pandemic will only prove useful in churning out bigger, better and more impactful editions in the future, with the power of technology.

"Most of the activities of Binibining Pilipinas were made virtually available so everyone can get to see their favorite candidates conveniently and safely. We can continue maximizing the virtual platform for the next editions of Binibining Pilipinas to make quality productions accessible to both local and international audiences for free."

Full of hope that beauty pageants will survive the pandemic and whatever major challenges history is yet to bring, Araneta avers, "We can always use the pageant to rise above any and every crisis given the inspiration and endless good women can and will always bring the rest of the world."

SOURCE: https://www.manilatimes.net/2021/10/11/tmt-anniversary/beauty-queens-will-always-be-crowned-crisis-or-not-in-this-pageant-loving-nation/1817772