Now on its 51st year, one of the country’s oldest and most prestigious homegrown beauty pageants has a new thrust and president in the person of Cory Quirino. It has also partnered with ABS-CBN, the Department of Interior and Local Governments and the Liga ng mga Barangay, as it widens its reach to attract more beautiful, deserving and talented Filipino women.
By Alex Y. Vergara
For its 51st year as an organization, Mutya ng Pilipinas has sought to widen its net in search not only of winsome and articulate beauty queens to compete abroad and advocate for world peace, women empowerment and the environment. If Fred Yuson, Mutya ng Pilipinas chair, would have his way, he wants the annual beauty pageant to be the ultimate search for the “hometown girl” who would one day shine beyond the world of beauty pageants.
It just so happened that media personality as well as anti-crime and wellness advocate Cory Quirino shares Fred’s vision. It didn’t hurt that Cory once led Miss World Philippines for six years, producing, under her watch, a string of semifinalists, finalists and a winner in the annual Miss World beauty pageant. As Cory tells it, Fred, who, with the help of singer-songwriter Ogie Alcasid, sought her out last December to lead Mutya as it rebrands itself in the new year, “wouldn’t take no for an answer.” By January, Cory formally came on board as the organization’s new president.
“The news is true,” she said during a recent press conference at Ascott Residences in Makati. “Cory is back. After three years of hiatus, retreat and vacation from the beauty pageant scene, I finally was, actually, coerced by a group of gentlemen headed by Ogie Alcasid and Fred Yuson.”
She continued: “To make a long story short, there was only one thing that motivated or inspired me to go back to pageantry. And that was based on what Fred said to me—what was the one thing in pageantry that you wanted to do, but failed to. Actually, I tried, but I wasn’t able to accomplish it.”
Describing her “initial dream” as “very organic,” she was heartened to learn that Fred also shared the same dream—to lead in the search of the so-called hometown girl from barangays near and far and give her a platform to shine not only in the beauty pageant circuit, but also as a TV star, movie star, newscaster, career woman and even perhaps a politician. At the same time, Cory also wants to continue and strengthen one of Mutya’s core advocacies, which is tourism promotion.
In a press statement provided by Mutya ng Pilipinas, it heralds a “welcome change” in the organization’s thrust. “For this [to become a reality], a partnership arrangement was formed with A Team president Ogie Alcasid. Talks are also underway with ABS-CBN to open its doors to talented Mutya candidates who could possibly join the ranks of ABS-CBN Star Magic artists.”
Admittedly, Cory and her collaborators are writing and revising the rules as they continue to venture into uncharted territory. They have yet to firm up, for instance, how to whittle down the selection process to 30 or so delegates, considering that there are more than 42,000 barangays all over the country. Cory also didn’t go into details about biracial hopefuls as well as Filipino beauty queen wannabes who were born and raised abroad. Would they still qualify as “hometown girls?”
Instrumental in bridging Mutya ng Pilipinas closer to aspiring candidates was the signing of a memorandum of agreement with the Liga ng mga Barangay headed by its president, Eden Pineda, and Department of Interior and Local Government Undersecretary for Barangay Affairs Martin Diño. The search, which has yet to formally begin, will culminate sometime in August with four major crowns and two runner-up positions up for grabs.
“If I can make a difference in someone else’s life, why not? That’s why Mutya ng Pilipinas is here—to give every hometown girl a time to shine not just here in the Philippines, but also everywhere else in the world. So, hometown girl, it’s your time to shine,” Cory declares.
