The finals will happen this Sunday, August 2, with a late night telecast over ABS-CBN
Sunday night will see the Mutya ng Pilipinas 2015 come to a close after the selection of their new winners. From among the thirty (30) lovely candidates, three will walk home with crowns on their heads (actually, even the runners-up have one each). And when I say ‘lovely’, I mean it to heart. The national beauty pageant always comes up with the most beautiful faces every year. And I am amazed at how the organizers are able to assemble them batch after batch after batch. So without further ado, let me present to you the girls I have selected to make the first cut. I chose twelve (12) to allow two (2) wildcards simply because this is a strong batch.
The Top 12:
I chose seven (7) homegrown – Angelynne Huxley Cabrera, Katherine Caguioa, Jaymie Lou Pagulayan, Julee Ann Marie Bourgoin, Jillean Orbina, Leren Mae Bautista and Brenna Cassandra Gamboa – and five (5) foreign entries – Janela Joy Cuaton, Nina Robertson, Aislinn Sebastian, Shannon Bridgman and Kerlyn Horn – in this dozen. My top favorites are already quite obvious. So for purposes of equality, I arranged them first according to their respective numbers.
The first of my Top 12 arranged according to numbers (Photo credit: Bruce Casanova)
The second set of my Top 12, arranged according to numbers once more (Photo credit: Bruce Casanova)
The Top 6:
Now here is where my ultimate choices get to take their spotlight appearances. The inclusion of Laguna (Leren), Cagayan de Oro City (Julee), Doha Qatar (Janela) are already givens. So I added three (3) more who could spoil things for one of them – Nueva Ecija (Brenna), Southern California (Aislinn) and Isabela (Jaymie Lou).
I picked a Top 6 just to include a potential spoiler among one of the ladies in the lower row (Photo credit: Bruce Casanova)
My Final Choices:
With Leren Mae Bautista as my #1 pick, I would have automatically assigned her to the highest title. But since Mutya ng Pilipinas Asia-Pacific International is looked at as a token title that has not had any international fielding for many years now, I don’t want to put this tall beauty from Laguna to waste. I sincerely want her to get Mutya ng Pilipinas-Tourism International where the mission is clearly established. Hence, I am putting Julee Ann Marie Bourgoin of Cagayan de Oro City for the top spot – much like a throwback to the fate of Eva Patalinjug last year. The organizers are said to be negotiating for a new franchise, but until clarity sets in, I would stick to my personal ranking.
Mutya ng Doha, Qatar Janela Joy Cuaton getting the Overseas Communities crown is a no-brainer. Based on buzz and support, she will get this honor without much of a strong fight.
The two runners-up on my list – Brenna Cassandra Gamboa and Aislinn Sebastian – are very much capable of stealing the limelight from one of the three ladies above, but none moreso than the Nueva Ecija bet who just might get what she has been dreaming of in all her years of national pageant participation. If either Leren or Julee will falter, Brenna can easily sneak in for one of the big wins.
So there.
My final picks for the Top 5 placement of Mutya ng Pilipinas 2015 (Photos courtesy of Lito Sy Photography)
