Aura Donna Garon (in blue) and Clarize Angelica Barrameda (in fuschia) are the official Philippine representatives to Miss South East Asian 2013!
TWO PINAYS FIGHTING FOR ONE CROWN!
ABQ says fare-thee-well to 2 fab Filipinas flying off to Bangkok, Thailand to represent the Philippines in the first edition of Miss South East Asian 2013! Aura Donna Garon and Clarize Angelica Barrameda, both alumnae of Miss Philippines Earth, depart on July 20, 2013. They have less than 5 days to impress the judges and organizers as coronation comes swift on July 24.
And indeed, they will be fighting for the same crown!
“Its a competition, yes,” says Angel, “but in our minds, I’m not Miss Angel and Donna is not Miss Donna. We are both Miss Philippines, competing for our nation.”
Donna adds, “I believe our friendship will always be there in spite of the competition. Angel and I will always treasure that!”
From what ABQ saw at their send-off at Fernandina Suites in Quezon City, the girls seemed to get along really well, always referring to each other when they answered questions from the press.
DONNA AND ANGEL: REPLACEMENT CANDIDATES?
ABQ got the press conference rolling with a question about how they got chosen. Donna explained that they were handpicked by National Pageant Director Mac Taug who also happens to be their official designer. Then a little intrigue popped up when Angel admitted that she and Donna were replacements. The two girls who were originally set to compete in Miss South East Asian 2013 were Charisse Marie Sisperez (a Miss Philippines Earth 2010 candidate) and Dale Ivory Lee (one of my favorites in Mutya ng Pilipinas 2012).
Philippine Pageant Director Mac Taug explained that there were difficulties with each of them. In the case of Dale Ivory Lee, he says Dale insisted on having her own training schedule but Mac felt it wasn’t right for him to make beauty queen/trainer Hemilyn Escudero adjust her time to suit Dale’s.
As for Charisse Marie Sisperez, Mac says she kept missing her training days because of an unspecified illness.
In spite of the setbacks, Pageant Director Mac Taug was able to quickly find worthy (and perhaps better?) replacements. “Confident ako na Donna and Angel will do an excellent job in Miss South East Asian 2013!”
ABQ hopes that Donna Garon and Angel Barrameda will indeed be the last women standing on July 24, 2013 at the Miss South East Asian beauty pageant!
Find out more about Donna Garon and Angel Barrameda, just click on their names below to read a short bio of each girl.
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Miss South East Asian is a regional pageant on it’s first edition. It started as a cultural showcase in celebration of music, costume and traditional dance in Bangkok. The pageant, which allows each nation in the region to send two representatives, aims to unite young South East Asian women to share common values and foster friendship and understanding. The 2013 Miss South East Asian batch will compete in Heritage Costume, Cultural Presentation, Swimsuit and Evening Gown. They will be trimmed down to 5 finalists by the judges for the interview which will conclude in the crowning of Miss Southeast Asian 2013!
Highlights of the Miss Southeast Asian 2013 will be webcast to the world via http://www.misssoutheastasian.net
Click here to get to Miss South East Asian’s Facebook Page
