Too bad, my bet for Hiyas ng Mindanao beauty pageant(Miss Katrina Camoro of Basilan) wasn’t able to join the contest. She was disqualified for certain reasons. Anways, the Hiyas ng Mindanao experience was awesome, a great 5-day event where I was able to have the chance to mingle with the ladies.
I wasn’t able to to meet the girls on the day of their arrival but I was able to go the next day, on their SWIMSUIT competition(grins). The swimsuit competition of Hiyas ng Mindanao was held at Pryce Plaze hotel. The girls was doing their “blocking” when me and jeedo arrived.

I sure enjoyed it, especially the one who took the video, jeedo! He sure have seen a lot of “revelations” as he was busy recording the event.LOL
I was able to get a picture with the davao girls in their swimsuit too. (from left) Karen Joyce Peñanueva, Aileen Cainglet and Toni Michelle Su. HOT!HOT!HOT!

And after all the catwalk the girls made, the beautiful Ms. Kathrina Manansala, representative of CDO, got the title of Best in Swimsuit. Stunning beauty I must say…

The next day, the cultural and talent night was held at the provincial grounds of the CITY CAPITOL, it started late but it was worth it. I’ve seen the girls on their ethnic costume and mann they were all beautiful. Here is a couple of pictures I’ve taken while the girls were in action.

And after two hours of talent presentations, the proclaimed hiyas ng mindanao best in talent was Miss Kristine Grace Maambong. She did a “kulintang” presentation and the crowd was just amazed on how she did it.

The girls were also kind enough to allow us to take some pictures of them at the backdrop of the stage.

The next day, Rey(Director of Hiyas ng Mindanao Pageant) texted me that the girls were at Tagbuan Grill having their dinner. I did not hesitated a second and scoot right away to the place. I was able to dine with the girls while Tagbuan Grill waiters served their sumptous meals.
The picture below is taken with the owner of Tagbuan Grill Restaurant(one in yellow shirt), the Director of Hiyas ng Mindanao Pageant(guy in red polo) and yours truly.



I also had the chance to get a picture with the Hiyas ng Mindanao 2006 reigning queen and the Miss Hiyas 1st runner up.

Finally, the day the girls were all waiting for, pageant day. It was held at the Atrium, Limketkai Mall. This was a battle for them and they sure geared up with their stunning costumes and elegant dresses that night. Although the place was not jampacked as expected, the supporters of the each of the candidate were around to give encouragement. I was sitting on same row where the 11 judges were and I must say, I feel tense for the girls. It was a 3 hour event for the ladies to showcase their beauty and talent, and as the judges screened them up to the 7 semi-finalist where they showed the paintings they did, it was evident for the judges that only 3 candidates stood out.
The final question was raised and the final 3 candidates did their best on how to answer it. The crowd was very eager to know who the judges voted as the Hiyas ng Mindanao.

And so it was proclaimed…Miss Kathrina Manansala of Cagayan de Oro was crowned as the Hiyas ng Mindanao Pilipinas.

This pageant indeed was a great one and for me, all of the 11 candidates are winners. I hope our government would continue their support on this kind of events as to realize the true potential of our beautiful filipinas. For the candidates, I had a great experience with you and I salute you. I wish you all the best in life and that you may continue on proving to the world what a filipina can do. Congratulations to the 11 candidates of Hiyas ng Mindanao!\m/^_^\m/