2012 MISS WORLD Philippines Queeneerich Rehman RODEL ROTONI
There is a new way for Filipinos to support 2012 Miss World Philippines Queeneerich Rehman in her quest to become the country’s first Miss World titleholder.
During her visit to the Inquirer office in Makati City last Friday, the 5’8” Pakistani-Filipino stunner said the global pageant will introduce a new “fast-track” method to advance to the competition this year—the Multimedia award.
Miss World holds fast-track competitions where the winners get closer to the coveted international title by gaining extra points. Previous years’ editions had the Beach Beauty, Top Model, Sports, Talent and Beauty with a Purpose segments.
For the Multimedia award, each contestant will have a section in the Miss World website (www.missworld.com) where they can upload photos and videos to update fans. Contestants can also use various social networking sites to generate support. “Malakas ang laban natin, since the Philippines is the ‘Facebook capital of the world,’” the 23-year-old Rehman told Inquirer.
Rehman will need all the support she can get, especially since the Miss World finals will be held in China, which is embroiled in a territorial dispute with the Philippines in the West Philippine Sea.
Despite the political tension between the two governments, however, Rehman maintains a positive outlook. “Whatever the controversy is between China and the Philippines, I’ll try my best to be friendly and to be sociable. I’m taking Mandarin lessons so I can impress the Chinese people,” she said.
But Rehman won’t rely solely on fan votes to bag the elusive title. Since her coronation as Miss World Philippines last June 24, she has been busy training for the big league.
“Aside from Mandarin lessons, I also did catwalk training and went to the gym. I also trained for the talent portion and the cultural dance segment,” she said. “I’m going to do beatboxing for the talent. And for the cultural dance, I’m going to perform an Igorot dance,” she added.
For the Beauty with a Purpose competition, Rehman said she will present the plight of children with hydrocephalus. She has already donated part of her P1-million cash prize to the Philippine General Hospital for the treatment of children afflicted with the disease.
No Filipino woman has won in Miss World’s 61-year history. The closest the Philippines has ever gotten to the title were Gwendoline Ruais’ second place finish last year and Evangeline Pascual’s first runner-up in 1973. Actress Ruffa Gutierrez finished third in 1993.
“I invite all Filipinos to ‘like’ the Miss World Philippines official Facebook fanpage,” Rehman appealed. “It’s the one with the Miss World Philippines logo as the profile picture,” she noted.
Rehman left for China last July 18. The 2012 Miss World coronation night will take place in Ordos, Inner Mongolia in China on Aug. 18. TV5 will broadcast the international pageant live.