Miss Bohol 2014: Meet the 18 contestants

Wake-uppers:

Scene: From Llew Kutamura: Eduardo Boyles Davalan was promoted to Brigadier General and appointed as Commander to the First Scout Ranger Regiment, a Philippine Army Special Operations Command unit, and specializes in anti-guerrilla warfare.

Scene: From Emerson Pinos: Love taking Selfies? In time for Sandugo Festival 2014, join the ‪#‎BoholSelfie Contest. #BoholSelfie is a photo contest that showcases how creative we are in capturing Bohol's magnificent sceneries by taking selfies of our own. The contest starts on July 1 and ends on July 26, 2014. Winners will receive cash prizes and freebies from our sponsors. For more info, visit www.facebook.com/boholselfie.

Scene: The Holy Trinity Foundation School in Upper Mansasa District, Tagbilaran City, placed second in the National Achievement Test (NAT) in all elementary schools in Tagbilaran. It is owned and operated by the Little Handmaids of the Most Holy Trinity. School principal Carmencita Formilleza- Maniwang attributed their noteworthy achievement to the school’s excellence in education. “Such achievement validates and rewards the continuing commitment of the Holy Trinity Foundation School to equip the students with quality Christian education whose dreams and vision centered on a genuine Christian life, touches every person, every relationship and every learning experience, ‘that all may have life in its fullness’ in the Most Holy Trinity,” said Maniwang.

Scene: After the “hellish” journey at BIR, I'm done na! Thanks to my lawyer-accountant-bookkeeper Atty. Licelle Zamora, CPA (of Marapao Street, Tagbilaran City) for the assistance and guidance. One thing I've learned from her: Pay your taxes on time to avoid penalty.

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Who among them will have the chance to win Miss Bohol crown and (hopefully) represent the province in the national beauty pageant stage?

Wearing their swimwear, the 18 (not 17 as earlier reported) candidates of the Miss Bohol 2014: The Quintessential Boholana introduced themselves during the pageant's press presentation on Friday, June 27.

The 18 candidates of Miss Bohol 2014 with the pageant chairman Bohol’s first lady Pureza Veloso-Chatto. Courtesy: Pureza Chatto

Members of the press also had the chance to ask and interact with the candidates.

The Miss Bohol 2014 committee decided to drop the Sandugo so that it would be like the mother pageant in Bohol and not only a festival pageant.

Through the years, the Miss Bohol pageant has maintained its reputation as the province’s most prestigious beauty pageant. The pageant, however, needs to reinvent itself in order to keep up with the times.

Aside from being the quintessential symbol of Boholana beauty, brains and breeding, Miss Bohol should also be the epitome of the modern Boholana. Confident, charming and career-oriented, she is also a unique and privileged position to use her popularity and personality for a good cause to promote   and support worthy various  projects , causes and advocacies as well as a positive role model for her peers and for the community.

The presscon also turned-out to be an instant reunion with VRS and former beauty queen Anna Maris Igpit.  There were also Bohol’s first lady Pureza Chatto, the lady boss of Miss Bohol, Bohol’s Queen Of All Media Ardy Araneta-Batoy, Bohol’s seasoned host Raul Gatal, the handlers, make-up artists and hairstylists.

Anyway, here are the 18 official candidates of Miss Bohol 2014:

Jassenie Mangaron (Loon)- 33-24-32; She is a consistent honor student from Cebu Normal University taking up Bachelor in Secondary Education. She is a dog lover and a big fan of the movie “Hachiko” which touched her so much. She wants to sustain the resilience and cooperative spirit of her fellow Loonanons so that they can all rise from the rubble.

Jaya Lozano (Tubigon)- 34-24-35; She wants to date Brad Pitt and to know Pitt’s secret of keeping a strong relationship with Angelina Jolie despite their busy schedule. Jaya wants to promote Tubigon’s Cabgan, a bat sanctuary which represents the town’s preservation of its natural beauty.

Allyson Mycee Escobia (Anda)- 33 ½-26 ½-38 ½; She is graduate of Silliman University and is currently working as  nurse at the Provincial Office of the Governor. She loves to read books and surf the net during her spare time. She joins Miss Bohol to prove that she can go beyond her limits and let people be aware of the beauty of her town Anda.

Liss Lee Centillas (Buenavista)- 32-26-33; Liss is a nurse by profession and graduated from Mater Dei College. She believes that heartbreak is God’s way of leading the path to meeting a better person. For her, the people of Buenavista are very supportive people despite of being a small town.

Joyce Trexie Marie Cagabnot (Bohol Island State University)- 31-24-35; She is a huge fan of Dan Brown’s Angels and Demons because she loves the development and the twists of the story. She is proud to represent her school because it produces competent professionals.

Clowie Lim (Ubay); Kim Kim is third year college student taking up Bachelor in Elementary Education at the Bohol Northern Star College. She hopes to work with Miss World 2013 Megan Young someday as she is her inspiration.

Annaleah Saga (Carmen)- 35-25-36; 5’3”; Yhang Yhang is a graduating student of BS-Hotel and Restaurants Service Technology from BISU.

Farwah Nijah Soriano (Pilar)- 32-27-35; 5;5”; Farwah is a student of Holy Name University. She wishes to date Prince Harry because she has always dreamed of becoming a princess. She believes that joining Miss Bohol is not about being there as herself but embodying her town Pilar. This is her way of thanking her fellowmen for believing in her.

Mary Rose Butalid (Panglao)- Rose, 16, is the youngest of this year’s Miss Bohol candidates.  If she wins Miss Bohol, she wants to focus an advocacy that would address kids’ pre-mature indulgence of technology advancements like computer games and social media and bring back their interest in reading books through putting up mini-libraries mot especially in rural communities in Bohol.

Imaculada Cleofe Leopardas (Barbara Pearls Cosmetics)-33-26-36; 5’7”; Ima was a student leader and a former editor-in-chief of her school paper in high school. She loves to compose songs and write poems. She lives her life keeping in mind the best lesson she got from her parents- to respect everyone regardless of their status, gender, beliefs and culture.

Liezel May Turtoga (Getafe)- 31-23-35; 5’7”; Liezel is a part time model. She loves to sing and dance. As a big fan of “Frozen,” she is proud of her Getafe’s Pandanon Island and Banaco Mangrove Forest.

Geraldine Topsnik (Tagbilaran)- This 17-year-old half-German half-Filipino describes herself as a “full Filipina and a true Boholana” and aspires to become a successful businesswoman. She loves to cook and bake.

Genina Abrau (Sierra-Bullones)- 34-25-35; 5’5”; Nina is a scholar of DOST. She is a graduating student taking up Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering at BISU. She is a student leader and a senator in her school. She is a fan of anime and wishes to visit Japan someday.

Maria Tiffany Tabigue (Balilihan)- Tipan is currently the tourism officer of her town. She was tasked to call the girls in her hometown to join Miss Bohol but she was chosen instead. She was a former SK chairperson in her barangay.

Natasha Amethyst Torralba (Duero)- 34-27-37; 5’3”1/2. Nash is an active member of different youth organizations. She loves to watch movies with her younger siblings. The best advice she learned from heartbreak is to embrace pain because that will make her stronger.

Christine Mae Cuarto (Jagna)- 31-22-33; Mae aspires as a good policewoman. She graduated BS-Criminology at BIT-International College-Jagna. She is also a DJ of “Radyo Natin” Jagna. She joins Miss Bohol to improve her personality and confidence.

Queenie Melody Fullante (Dauis)- 36-25-36; 5’3”; She is a half-Bengali half-Filipina who works as an NGO worker that provides shelter to disaster hit areas.  She grew up under the care of her aunt while her mother is working in Manila. She finished Bachelor of Science in Accountancy at UB. She hopes to be a merchant to be able to travel and meet people from all walks of life.

Diozel Namoco (Dimiao)- 34-23-36; 5’3”; Zhel is a graduating student from HNU. She dreams to manage her own 5-star hotel someday. She loves to watch TV and read books.

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