The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
There are nasty and smear campaigns being thrown to winners of the recently concluded 2023 Miss Universe Philippines recently held at the Mall of Asia (MOA) Arena.
The hurting words count the major winners as beauty contest “veterans.”
Or the taunt “always a bridesmaid, never a bride.”
They included Michelle Dee, the newly crowned 2023 Miss Universe PH who has tried Miss World Philippines in 2019 and won the title but missed the international crown. In 2022, Michelle competed in the Miss Universe Philippines and was proclaimed Miss Universe Philippines Tourism, equivalent to 1st Runner-Up to winner Celeste Cortesi.
Pauline Amelinckx, 2023 Miss Suprainternational, joined previous Miss U PH editions but she was unlucky to be a winner as well as Emmanuelle Vera (Cebu Province), Samantha Panlilio (Cavite) and Klyza Castro (Davao Oriental).
According to Michelle’s IG posts, “they joined Miss Universe Philippines as pageantry veterans—a label they are proud to be called themselves.”
During the early part of the competition, Dee has been harping on her and fellow candidates’ determination. “DEEPATAPOS (a hashtag) ang laban. Nag-uumpisa pa lang tayo. Lalaban tayo hanggang sa makakaya. Lalaban tayo basta may ipinaglalaban (The battle isn’t finished yet. We’re just beginning. We will fight to our abilities. We will fight as long as we have something to fight for),” gushed Michelle, scion of action star Derek Dee and beauty queen-actress Melanie Marquez.
“It’s always exciting to get new things, watch new movies, and meet new faces; and in pageantry, the same enthusiasm comes into play. We’re often thrilled to see new ladies walking the runways every year…but what if the people we’re seeing are people we’ve met before?” she opined.
In the middle of all this, Michelle has learned a lesson or two: “Coming into the pageant, we all had our respective reasons—and yet here we are, not as dubbed ‘veterans’ but as individuals who realize that this has a BIGGER purpose other than ourselves. No matter the circumstance & no matter the pressure, we’ll ALWAYS come out stronger,” Michelle defiantly shouted out in her social media spaces.
Look who’s got the last laugh now?