popnews.online

Miss Universe Philippines strives to break pageant norms and build a new Miss Universe that promotes empowered beauty with a purpose through its new online series, Ring Light , which premieres at www.empire.ph on  Sept. 27. Going beyond preliminaries and the coronation night, Ring Light is the first of its kind in the world as it gives pageant fans a closer look at what it truly takes to become a beauty queen. From rigorous training to fascinating challenges and fun, behind-the-scenes activities, Ring Light proves that there’s more to beauty than meets the eye.   Composed of eight episodes, the series follows 50 aspiring Miss Universe Philippines candidates and takes viewers through their inspiring journey to the crown. Each episode will take the viewer through learnings, challenges, preliminaries, and finally, the coronation night.   A portion of each subscription will go to the candidates’ chosen beneficiary as well as partner organizations. Each Miss Universe...

In a moving tribute, pageant guru Jonas Antonio Gaffud, creative director of Miss Universe Philippines, offered a salute to his father whose covered body was being carried out of the hospital on a stretcher on the way to a vehicle. Gaffud gave the salute to his dad in a video he uploaded on Facebook, April 20. His father passed away on April 19. "He was a soldier. He was a farmer. He served his family, he served his country. In this time of pandemic, there is no 21 gun salute for a Retired Soldier. But if he were younger, he would have been a Frontliner. I know, that my salute is the best gift I can honor him with. I was hesitant to go to the hospital because of Covid 19. But in this time of chaos and loss, there is nothing braver than to bury a loved one. I love you forever Dad," said Gaffud on his video caption. Gaffud, whose team groomed some of the country's successful beauty queens, including 2015 Miss Universe Pia Wurtzbach, earlier said that there would b...

Let's help keep lolo & lola safe from #COVID19! This was the appeal of reigning Miss Universe Philippines Gazini Ganados and other non-government organizations after they launched a fund-raising campaign that would help protect the grandparents and seniors against the dreaded COVID-19. Ganados, whose advocacy as beauty queen focuses on care for the elderly, launched the project on Instagram. "Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) confirmed cases in the Philippines have drastically increased in the last 2 weeks. Alarmingly, 70 percent of the reported deaths are senior citizens (60 years old and above). This means that older persons are becoming more susceptible to this virus and puts them in danger; "With this, Coalition of Services of the Elderly, Inc. (COSE) & Project Duyan for Sustainable Geriatric Health & Wellness would like to ask for your financial & in-kind assistance to help provide personal protective equipment, health & hygiene m...

Pop News Philippines looks back at some of the highlights in Philippine modelling and pageants of 2019 that shocked, surprised, and endeared many pageants fans! Here are the 10 memorable moments in local pageantry and modelling (in no particular order): * PARTNERS NO MORE: Binibining Pilipinas Charities, Inc. and Miss Universe Organization break ties after 55 years. * NEW PAGEANT: Creation of Miss Universe Philippines beauty pageant. * Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach is the first Filipino to have a wax figure exhibited in the famed Madame Tussauds Museum in Hong Kong. * MUTYA PILIPINAS VICTORY - Mutya Pilipinas tops among major national pageant in Philippines for 2019 after Cyrille Payumo wins Miss Tourism International. Its the only international title among top 5 major pageants in the country for 2019. Earlier, Mutya Pilipinas Tourism International 2019 Tyra Rae Goldman of Nevada was disqualified from the international competition. * BEAUTY QUEEN ...

The new Miss Universe Philippines (MUP) organization and Smart Communications, Inc. have donated more than P1.6 million to two charitable institutions that would help children with untreated clefts in developing countries, and help poor kids fund their education. MUP National Director Shamcey Supsup-Lee led the handing over of checks to Smile Train and Hope for Change organizations during the finals of Global Asian Model Philippines 2019 competition held at Okada Manila in Paranaque City last Dec. 13. The MUP, also in collaboration with Frontrow Philippines, donated US$16,500, roughly more than P800,000 each to the two charitable institutions. Smile Train is an international children’s charity with a sustainable approach to a single, solvable problem: cleft lip and palate. “Millions of children in developing countries with untreated clefts live in isolation, but more importantly, have difficulty eating, breathing and speaking,” the group said. The Hope for Change helps u...

If reigning Miss Universe Philippines Gazini Ganados would have her way, she doesn't want the prestigious beauty contest to be held in the country during her reign. "To be honest, I want the Miss Universe pageant to be held abroad because I want to travel sana," said Ganados during an interview after she was presented as the newest ambassadress for Blue Water Day Spa at Florabel Restaurant, Estancia Mall in Pasig City July 31. Gazini was reacting to rumors that the Miss Universe 2019 pageant might be held in Manila for the 4th time in January 2020. Earlier there were reports that the pageant would be staged either in South Korea or Dubai. But other reports said that it might be held in the Philippines once again. "But of course, I will respect the decision of the Miss Universe Organization for the country where they will stage the pageant," Gazini said. NEW ENDORSEMENT - Miss Universe Philippines 2019 Gazini Ganados (center) poses af...

The results are in! Thirty of the country's respected and popular members of pageant media have finally revealed their top 3 Binibinis who they believe have the strong chance of winning the Miss Universe Philippines 2019 crown during the grand coronation of Bb. Pilipinas pageant at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City on June 9. Miss Universe Philippines represents the country in the Miss Universe pageant. From Day 1, these media personalities from TV, print and blogs have chatted with, swapped opinions on issues ranging from skin care to politics or simply observed these 40 Binibinis in numerous pre-pageant activities. I wrote the article. Thus, I did not include my personal choices in the survey. In my survey, I asked our media friends to name their top 3 Binibinis for the title of MUP 2019. Many of those surveyed gave three names but some only gave two. One of our media friends only shared one name. After more than three months of covering these stunning Bi...

The Miss Universe Organization (MUO) finally put an end to speculations that the Miss Universe Philippines (MUP) franchise has been awarded to the group of Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis Chavit Singson. In an official statement, the MUO said that it will continue working with the Araneta Group on Binibining Pilipinas. The full statement: “The Miss Universe Organization has had a very successful, decades long relationship with Stella and Jorge Araneta and Binibining Pilipinas Charities, Inc. Stella is an icon in the pageant community and under her guidance, many young women have proudly represented the Philippines on the international stage, in addition to four amazing Filipinas who have gone on to bring home the Miss Universe crown; ''Through the country’s pageant system and its leadership, young women who have participated in Binibining Pilipinas have been afforded the opportunity to be the best they can be and lead “confidently beautiful” lives. ''In recent years, T...

Looking stunning in her lovely evening gown, 25-year-old Rachel Peters walked the stage on a wave of cheers and applause as her name was called in the last whirlwind moments of the Binibining Pilipinas Grand Coronation Night on April 30.   She nailed the live Interview portion with an articulate response that, in the hearts and minds of her fans, made her a shoe-in for one of the crowns among the night’s Top 15 finalists. The Question:  This week, the Philippines is hosting the ASEAN Summit. If you were invited to speak, what would have been your message to the leaders? Her answer:  “I believe that one of the biggest problems that our country faces today is divisiveness – in politics, in religion, and also in culture. And I believe that...is the same across the world. So that is something I want to address. I believe that when people can learn to tolerate each other’s differences and respect each other’s opinion,”  she said before loud cheers ...