Beauty queen in training

BELA Padilla wins two awards at Asian Super Model tilt.

GMA 7 discovery Bela Padilla thinks Shamcey Supsup should have won the Miss Universe title.

“I’m patriotic kasi,” Bela said, adding that she would answer Shamcey’s make-or-break question the same way, too.

Would she convert for the man she loves?

“I wouldn’t be who I am if not for my religious beliefs,” said Bela, a Jehovah’s Witness. “I see how exploited some young people in show business are. The reason why I didn’t end up like them is because of my faith.”

But she’s ready to don the skimpy swimsuits required in contests. “You have to be confident to wear anything if you want to represent your country well,” she said.

If she answers like a pro, that’s because she’s a beauty pageant hopeful in training.

Bela hopes to join Miss World Philippines next year.

It has been her long cherished dream to wear a tiara and sash and represent the country in a pageant abroad.

Since Bela’s handlers in GMA Artist Center knew about her wish, they fielded her, along with “Starstruck” finalist Fianca Cruz and model Kimberly Tan, in the Asian Super Model tilt, held in Guilin and Nanning, China, recently.

Bela brought home two prizes from China: Media’s Darling and Miss Friendship. (Big winner was from China, with Thailand and Mongolia as runners-up.)

“The Filipina contestants were the peacemakers in the contest,” she recounted.

While some of the girls ended up quarrelling, she tried her best to be an ambassador of goodwill, she said. She witnessed a contestant (who’s a vegetarian) squaring off with another girl (who’s a meat-eater).

The misunderstandings were sparked by “cultural differences and the language barrier,” she said.

She also didn’t feel ostracized because of the Quirino Grandstand tragedy and Spratly Islands dispute.

“Our hosts treated us well. At least, my fellow contestants and the organizers were able to see that Filipinos are warm and friendly, that we could get along with people from different countries easily.”

The two honors she won (Miss Friendship especially) seemed appropriate because Bela figured in a controversy with Marian Rivera months ago.

True to form, Bela would rather laugh off past intrigues.

“Show biz has taught me to be more self-assured,” she said. “I used to be shy in school. But now I am more at ease with myself. Now, I can fix myself and do my makeup in five minutes.”

The China competition was like a crash course on future contests and other challenges as well, she said.

“It would be easier for me to compete and mingle with girls from other countries,” she said.

After stints in “Endless Love,” “Machete” and “Sisid,” she’s set to top-bill a new series on the modeling world with Sam Pinto, she said.