Instead of toasting the recent conclusions of the Mutya ng Pilipinas Melbourne and Maturate Model Competition, organisers of both beauty pageants are currently embroiled in controversies after some dissatisfied candidates and supporters hurled criticisms and complaints on the pageant’s results and the way the competition was handled.
Organisers of both pageants were quick to denounce the accusations in public and maintained the pageant’s integrity. They claim that such gestures are attempts to divide the community and derail the support to the reigning winners.
However, efforts to address the allegations seem to fall short in pacifying the complainants as issue after issue continue to spring to life.
Mutya ng Pilipinas Melbourne in question
Mutya ng Pilipinas is a popular and long-running national beauty pageant in the Philippines. Melbourne played host to the competition this year and crowned Kim Fyfe as Mutya ng Pilipinas Melbourne on 14 June 2014. Paulina Edralin, on the other hand, was adjudged First Runner-Up. Both ladies will represent Melbourne in the Philippine event this July and August.
Right after the Coronation, Jeremy Emana, a supporter of one of the candidates, expressed displeasure in the way the pageant was handled. In a letter to The Philippine Times, he narrates how he rang Choy Symes, who is the National Director of the organisation that handled Mutya ng Pilipinas Melbourne. He said Symes happened to be on air at 92.3 Hoy Pinoy and failed to satisfactorily answer his question on the judges’ fitness to choose Melbourne’s representative.
In the same letter, Emana outlined all his queries to the organisers, which range from the timing of the release of the candidates’ photos and the measurement of their heights right before the Coronation night to the relationship of the organisers to the winner’s family. He even took note of how disappointing the pageant night was from the food down to the show.
In an effort to dispel the accusations in these queries, Symes subsequently released a statement to The Philippine Times to address Emana head on. She denied accusations of favouritism and politicking. Moreover, she released the scores of each candidate on every segment and award in a bid to end the controversy.
Symes is hopeful that this hurdle will not diminish the Filipino community’s support to its Mutya ng Pilipinas representatives. “Having dispensed with our duty to respond to the issues raised, we hope you can join us in supporting our own Mutya ng Pilipinas Melbourne winner and first runner-up,” she appealed.
Maturate Model Competition concludes with criticisms
The Miss/Mr Twenteen and Maturate Models of Victoria is a fundraising pageant intended to promote multiculturalism in Victoria. It purports to have had successful outcomes since its inception in 2011. This year, the title was brought home by Helena Thomson.
Like any other competition, not all went home as winners come pageant night but the story didn’t end there. The Coronation seems to be the culmination of dissatisfaction and dissent within the pageant. Four candidates, Georgina Westeinde, Ermie Brown, Lanie Mae Templora and Mary Rose Casafu have approached The Philippine Times to air their complaints.
Georgina Westeinde, who bagged the Charity Award, brought her issue to Victoria’s Consumer Affairs, citing major flaws in the contest rules and processes set by the Maturate Committee. According to Westeinde, despite being one of the highest ticket sellers, she didn’t receive any major awards, contrary to the existing guidelines of the competition. Moreover, it’s claimed that the winner wasn’t eligible the Maturate Award, which should have been given to either Ermie Brown or Westeinde.
Complainants also cited the confusing judging rules. The committee opted to keep the criteria for choosing the winner a secret until the awarding ceremonies.
Confusing Instructions
During the actual competition, complainants enumerated many lapses committed by both the other contestants and the organisers themselves. For example, while no contestant should be allowed to wear a white gown, interestingly the winner wore one. Many had also donned on evening dresses with long trails, which is also prohibited based on the contest rules.
“She Tricked Us”
One of the complainants also aired her frustration and disappointment on one of the organisers, Divine Basa. It was announced at the last minute that the registration fee was $150, a time when contestants had already invested so much on the contest and therefore can lose a lot if they back out. Moreover, what they perceived to have been free makeup turned out to be $80 charge. “She [Divine Basa] tricked us. She waited up to the last minute to announce [the registration fee].”
They also believed that the Maturate Competition was biased. Raffles were drawn not by any third party or random person from the audience but by the committee members and organisers of the contest. They were also surprised to learn that one of the contestants received three of the significant prizes.
One lamented, “They didn’t treat us right either. They were very rude.” Westeinde quoted one of the organisers bluntly telling her, “Ang kapal ng mukha mo. Magtinda ka ng tickets sa Oakleigh [You have no shame. How could you sell tickets at Oakleigh].” They also alleged that the choreographers for the night were actually drunk and that although the rules strictly mandate all participants to conduct themselves with grace, poise, and modesty, many alleged that the winner proclaimed among her peers that she wasn’t wearing any underwear.
The issues also included food, which they perceived to be too small and insufficient for the dozen occupants in every table. They also questioned the ethics of the charity event since the organiser, Diez Production, is registered as family partnership business.
Public Apology
For the complainants, the Maturate Competition deserves a major overhaul, and they can begin by issuing a public apology to the affected candidates, and their respective guests, supporters, family, and friends. The organisers must also vow never to make the same mistake again. To the organisers, this is what Casafu has to say: “You disappoint us, you hurt us. I will not promote or support this event.”
Response from Divine Basa
Basa, in a public statement sent to The Philippine Times, stood her ground on how the pageant was conducted. She said, “We believe we have maintained our professionalism and integrity in handling the competition.”
Her response to the complaints of the four candidates: “We can only say that we have conducted the Mr. and Miss Twenteen and Maturate Model of Victoria Competition 2014 in a forthright manner. The Diez Production and its committee has nothing to do with the decision of the judges in determining the winners. The candidates were aware that not all of them can be winners, Furthermore, in all competitions, the Judges’ decision is always final. As we all know, you can not please everyone.”
Basa said the organiser and committee members aim to continually improve the managing and conducting of the modelling competition each year and are open to creative comments to make it even more successful in the future.
She said the Consumer Affairs of Victoria’s complaint of Westeinde will be dealt with by the organiser, Diez Production when it comes to hand.
As to the handling of the raffle tickets draw, Basa said a representative from the Emergency Relief Fund for Philippines (ERFFP) drew the winning tickets and handed each drawn ticket to the organiser for verification and announcement. “It just happened some people are lucky to win more than once,” she noted.
Lastly, Basa said they value all the candidates’ contributions to the cause and appreciate their help in raising funds for the ERFFP as this years’ recipient. Being a fundraising event, ERFFP was chosen as this year’s ticket sales beneficiary. In a separate interview, ERFFP President Roy Carbungco is quick to say his group is only a beneficiary and they did not, in any way, take part in the running of the competition. ERFFP received $1,750 from the competition which they will use for its charity projects in the Philippines.
Basa also reminded the pageant’s detractors of the purpose of the Maturate Model competition, which is to help raise money for charity. “It is not about one’s self and one’s personal pursuits. Winning is just a bonus,” she emphasised.
