The past day’s search for the woman with the most substance was a welcome respite to our countrymen who are just coming to grips with the reality that rogue policemen lurk within their midst.
For a couple of weeks at least, the part of the spotlight focused on how the 85 contestants for Ms. Universe fared in the string of activities that took them to places of interest all over the archipelago.
It was the lighter moments that Filipinos got to enjoy most when they got to get a glimpse of the beauty queens up close within talking when they showed up in such places as Vigan (Ilocos Norte), Baguio City, Batangas, Albay, Cebu and Davao.
In Vigan, not a few Ilocanos were amused when one contestant referred to Gov. Luis “Chavit” Singson as “Mr. Duterte.” But having realized the mistake, she did not lose time correcting herself.
Several were taken in by Davao City, especially the nearby islands of the Island City of Samal where they frolicked in the beaches.
The well-known hospitality of Filipinos also clearly floored most of the contestants who were greeted by multitudes everywhere they went. So unlike home perhaps.
In the end, while Maxine Medina showed she could contend up there, it was Iris Mittenaere of France who shone the brightest. The field was really oozing with talent and beauty that Maxine was fortunate to place 6th.
For a time there, the beauty pageant drew comparisons to those organized by former First Lady Imelda R. Marcos when her hubby Ferdinand, ruled the Philippines under the barrel of a gun.
One such event was the Miss Universe 1974 pageant in Manila which Amparo Munoz from Spain won.
This was followed by the Karpov-Korchnoi chess match and the ‘Thrilla in Manila’ boxing match between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier.
All three were really meant to deodorize the Marcos dictatorship.
In the 1974 pageant, the main thoroughfares of Manila alongside the slums were walled with plywood to hide them from public view.
The Duterte administration did no such thing. In fact, one Palace memorandum circular directed concerned government offices not to close any road for the duration of the event and that urban poor communities should not be hidden from public view to portray a false image of the country.
Another memorandum directed government offices to extend full support to the event but not to spend for it.
You can say both directives stemmed from plain common sense. First, whether we like it or not, we are still a Third World country struggling to get over the hump. So what is there to hide?
Second, while we are indeed a hospitable people, the pageant was no excuse to squander public funds. As Duterte himself said, he would rather spend money for the poor than channel it to the pageant.
There is also no martial law to deodorize. What we see is an imperfect democracy in a Third World setting tied down by graft and corruption, over-centralized bureaucracy, feudal conditions, illegal drugs, rogue policemen in the cities and extremist groups in the countryside.
It is the sum manifestation of these issues that is confronting the Duterte administration at every twist and turn.
The Ms. Universe pageant to a point took off part of the steam arising from a flurry of headlines associated to the killing of Korean businessman Jee Ick Joo and the killing of individuals linked to the war on drugs.
We rooted for Maxine while it lasted and while many realized she could not be another Pia Wurtzbach, she was the best we could parade for that moment.
In the end, we managed to draw international attention to a country brimming with diverse and natural attractions and beautiful people.
And while we may have given our visitors a glimpse of another Philippines as portrayed in the headlines, we did no such nonsense as to hide them, warts and all, from the rest of the world. Search me but it is part of the reason why it is more fun in the Philippines.
