8
Philippine Showbiz Today
Winners, Bb Pilipinas 2017
The results are in and
Rachel Peters is Miss Universe
Philippines 2017!
Rachel Peters, who
grew up in Camarines Sur,
beat 39 other hopefuls in a
glitzy hours-long pageant
focused on finding a
“complete” queen in the
vein of the wildly popular Pia
Wurtzbach, the country’s first
Miss Universe title-holder in
over four decades.
Following the reveal,
Peters, who called for unity
amidst a tough time for the
Philippines, was visibly in
shock as the outgoing winner
Maxine Medina crowned her
and the crowd cheered at the
Smart Araneta Coliseum.
In the Q&A round,
Peters acknowledged the growing
divisiveness between Filipinos in
recent years, buoyed by heated
debates on hot-button issues such
as the reimposition of the death
penalty and the government’s bloody
crackdown on illegal drugs.
“I believe that one of the
The
Binibining
Pilipinas 2017 winners
were announced at the
pageant’s coronation night
on Sunday, April 30, at the
Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Here
are
the
queens who will represent
the Philippines in the
international pageants:
•
Miss Universe
Philippines 2017: #19
Rachel Peters
•
Bb Pilipinas
International 2017: #15
Mariel de Leon
biggest problems of our country is
divisiveness: in politics, religion, and
culture,” she said when asked about
her message to the world leaders who
visited the recent ASEAN Summit
held over the weekend.
“I believe it is same across the
world and that is something I would
like to address. If we can learn to
More exciting than winning an
award- Boyet on daughter Mariel
Philippines
- On her second
try, Mariel de Leon
finally
bagged
a title Sunday
night at the
Smart Araneta
Coliseum,
as 2017 Bb.
Pilipinas-
International.
“It’s even
more exciting to
me than winning
an award,” said
Mariel’s father,
multi-awarded actor Christopher
“Boyet” de Leon. “An award feels like
an icing on the cake while winning
a beauty title is something else. You
have to compete with 40 equally
beautiful ladies who have gone
through rigorous screening.”
Mariel’s mom Sandy Andolong
couldn’t stand the suspense so she
decided to watch the pageant on TV
at the nearby Novotel, accompanied
by Boyet.
“I knew it was going to be
stressful,” said Sandy, “but as soon
as the winners were announced,
we ran to the Coliseum to be with
Mariel.”
May 8 - 21, 2017
Jan. 22-Feb.7, 2015
Boyet and Sandy noted that
Mariel worked hard for her second
try at the Binibini.
“She improved a lot,” observed
Sandy. “She has become more
confident and more determined. I
knew that she stood a big chance.
Mother’s instinct, you know.”
“But still,” added Boyet, “we
were surprised. Umiba ang aura
niya.”
Accompanied by their other
children Gabriel and Mica, the
couple hugged as they arrived at the
Coliseum.
“Prayer helped a lot,” said
Sandy. (R. Lo, PS) ●
tolerate each other’s differences and
respect each other, then we will be a
stronger nation going forward,” she
argued.
Peters
succeeds
Maxine
Medina, who fell short in winning
back-to-back Miss Universe titles
for the Philippines early this year.
Medina, who faced heavy criticism
over her public-speaking skills, said
she was happy with the result and
congratulated Peters.
•
Bb Pilipinas
Intercontinental 2017: #31
Katarina Rodriguez
•
Bb Pilipinas
Globe 2017: #18 Nelda Ibe
• Bb
Pilipinas
Grand
International 2017: #39 Elizabeth
Durado Clenci
• Bb Pilipinas Supranational
2017: #22 Chanel Olive Thomas
Runners-up:
• 1st
runner-up:
#32
Charmaine Elima
• 2nd runner-up: #40 Kristel
Guelos (V. Garcia, abs-cbn) ●