There are three things Filipinos are known for around the world: Jollibee, amazing singers, and an ardent devotion to beauty pageants. I'm not the most avid fan out there, but I know well enough that when it's the Miss Universe-Philippines coronation night, it's my sole obligation to drop everything and tune in.
Come this year's edition of the beauty brawl, I had my personal bets. I was ready for Pauline Amelinkcx to have her Pia Wurtzbach moment and finally clinch the crown after her third attempt. Other veteran queens like Samantha Panlilio and Emmanuelle Vera were also promising candidates given their experience.
But the delegate I really rooted for was Angelique Manto, whose courtside-reporter-to-style-influencer-to-potential-Miss-Universe story arch was the most appealing to me. A rookie she may be, I had high hopes that the Universe would be in her favor. Her performance on the actual night was refreshing to witness. There are thousands of netizens who would agree with me when I say that she actually had a pretty good shot at it.
Though, I have to admit: I had a strong hunch Michelle Dee was going to take home the crown.
Disclaimer: I wasn't #TeamMichelleDee in MUPH 2022, and I wasn't #TeamMichelleDee in MUPH 2023 either. The way I saw it, however, she had it in the bag since last year's pageant. It was a toss-up between her and Celeste Cortesi last year. When the latter eventually won, I already knew Michelle was lined up to succeed her somehow. It was kind of a calculated guess I made as a viewer. Considering her track record as a Miss World Philippines, her cookie-cutter beauty queen facade, and yes, her advantage as a "nepo baby," there was no way they weren't going to crown her eventually. I felt like it was just going to be handed to her, to be honest.
The instant that speculation became a reality, the internet blew over with enraged fans and self-proclaimed pageantologists discrediting the decision. Any post congratulating Michelle got bombarded with "luto!" and "cooking show" comments. The names of the runners-up took over Twitter like flags being waved at an uprising. Did it actually end up being some sort of popularity contest?
But heavy is the head that wears the crown. As someone who wasn't #TeamMichelleDee to begin with, I can kind of understand why her victory was questionable for many.
Having just competed the year prior, finishing at the second highest placement, no less, she had a lot of expectations to live up to. Her pasarela had to be finetuned to the utmost degree, and her final pose had to be the punctuation mark that declares, "Crown me, baby." If she wanted to do any better than she did the last time, the only option was to win.
I have zero credentials to judge beauty queens, but I can say that Michelle faced her stiffest competition yet in this year's round-a-bout. Aside from Pauline, who also stepped her game up, and Angelique, who was a fan favorite, she was also up against the killer struts of Christine Opiaza and Krishnah Gravidez. These ladies were not going to go down without a fight.
It's been days since the controversial contest and people are still up-in-arms about the results. People go as far as saying that we have no good news to look forward to in El Salvador, or that we're back in our "dark ages" after years of podium finishes. I get it. Fans root for their bets, and when the worse occurs, it's almost like a human response to cry out jeers.
Though, I feel like there's also a need to dial things down. Newsflash, people: It's not Michelle's "fault" she won. She was subject to a selection committee that deemed her worthy of being Miss Universe-Philippines. With all the cards presented, she had the winning deck in her hands. A bit of an "expected" winner? Sure, yeah. But a winner nonetheless.
"No matter how it looks, it was never [easy] and it never got easier to prepare for each time I [competed]," she wrote on Instagram upon relishing her win. This girl, like all the other delegates, trained her ass off to get what she did. She participated in the contest while filming Mga Lihim ni Urduja and fulfilling her duties as an ambassador for the Autism Society of the Philippines. Mind you, she even got hospitalized on her 28th birthday for a vital operation, which was right smack in the middle of the competition.
To blatantly attack her for going after a dream and eventually achieving it is below the belt. It's almost like we lose our capability to sympathize when the outcome we yearn for doesn't manifest. In a previous interview, Michelle opened up about the discrimination she faced growing up as one of the only Asian kids in her American neighborhood. She also didn't have the most blissful childhood, growing up with dysfunctional parents and having to step in to take care of her brothers who were on the autism spectrum.
She's been through her own version of hell, and like she said, it wasn't as easy as it looked. When it comes down to it, she does, in fact, tick off the boxes of what a beauty queen should be. I've seen all the memes about her "snake walk," and, yeah, it could use some work. But beyond that, she's done more than walking the walk.
As mentioned, she's a staunch advocate for autism awareness, having regularly offered her platform to national efforts. And you know she must genuinely care for it, given her personal connection to the cause. With the Miss Universe organization anchoring itself on "transformational leadership" under its new management, what we need is a Miss Philippines who has the gusto to actually enact change. There were 38 options on that stage last May 13, and it looks like Michelle made the most compelling case.
As polarizing as her victory was, there's absolutely no need to tear her down for it. Michelle, just like your favorite candidates, played the game to the best of her abilities. She played fair and it got her the crown, and we have to live with that. When she flies off to El Salvador, she'll do the same, and who else would be expected to support her than the rabid pageant-obsessed beasts that are Filipinos, right?
As they say, don't hate the player, hate the game.
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