by Nickie Wang
A high school salutatorian, a magna cum laude at the University of the Philippines College of Architecture, and a top-placer in the June 2010 Architecture Board Examination—these are the qualities of Venus Raj’s successor.
General Santos’ 24-year-old stunner Shamcey Supsup waved her right hand to the people at the Araneta Coliseum on April 10 wearing the Bb. Pilipinas Universe crown and sash upsetting more than 30 girls who came there only to applaud Supsup. Some of them were pageant repeaters, fashion models, and television talents (who are not that well-known enough).
In the eyes of this year’s judges, the 5’7.5” beauty is the best among the girls to represent the country in the Miss Universe pageant that will be held in Sao Paolo, Brazil in September.
Shamcey, whose surname instantly created a buzz on Twitter and Facebook, was the clear favorite of the night winning three special awards, which were handed to her by the pageant’s major sponsors. And her winning answer (to the question which only the judge himself could hear) was:
“I think the one worthy cause I can identify myself [with] is valuing education. Because I believe education is something that cannot be taken away from you. You can have money, you can have fame, but in the end, it can be taken [away] from you. But education will always be there to help you.”
This cryptic quote was neither the best (of course) nor the logical answer during the crucial Q and A portion but she delivered it with spontaneity and confidence, like most beauty queens would say: grace under pressure.
Other winners were last year’s first runner-up Diane Necio as Bb. Pilipinas International (who resigned to be part of this year’s competition), and early favorite Isabella Manjon as Bb. Pilipinas Tourism.
The standard of beauty
During the long gown competition, while an orchestra version of Bruno Mars hit was being played, a sound byte of Shamcey says “The standard of beauty is not definite…we define it.” It probably took the judges’ attention initially and thought of giving her the responsibility to be Binibining Pilipinas Charities Inc. ambassador for its philanthropic works, and all other things that a beauty queen is supposed to do apart from competing in an international pageant.
Did Shamcey define the standard of beauty that night? It’s logical to say yes but will it be whole different standard when she competes in the international pageant stage. Can she duplicate or even surpass Venus Raj’s success by snatching the country’s third Miss Universe title?
Apart from her incredible academic credentials, Shamcey’s edge is her beauty that does not celebrate the capabilities of science. But those were the same advantages eloquent Theresa Licaros and Nina Ricci Alagao had. Both incredibly intelligent women, who were also UP alumnae, but went home without the elusive Miss Universe crown when they competed in 2000 and 2007, respectively. Can Shamcey be an exemption? That’s for us to find out.
That guy in iced tea commercial
Many people grew up with an undying ambition to be a celebrity and they say, one of the best ways to make your first step into show business is to appear in a television commercial.
Many television talents or even established actors and actresses were discovered after they appeared on a television ad. So this may hold true to some but of course it’s not always a guarantee that one would be noticed by major television networks.
To teenage Neil Coleta being cast in a hit TVC gave him a sure ticket to showbizness. The struggling young talent is best known for appearing in an iced tea commercial that spawned several more TVCs, which follow his love story with a lovely girl who is described as hard to get.
The truth is, Neil, who is more popularly known as Nikos in the said commercial, has already appeared in several television programs like Lipgloss, Rosalka, and ShoutOut. But still, people refer to him as Nikos in the famous TVC all the time. Perhaps his being part of those programs didn’t help to give his career the needed boost.
Now, Neil is with ABS-CBN. Thanks to the famous TVC. He is cast in the upcoming series 100 Days, the next television offering of Kapamilya network.
Iza replaces Regine
Just so you know, Iza Calzado replaced Regine Velasquez on GMA-7’s primetime romantic comedy, I ♥ You Pare.
After two months of portraying Tonya in the show, Regine suddenly left the series due to severe migraine. Based on a statement issued by GMA network last week, Regine’s sickness is caused by lack of sleep, long working hours and stress, thus as advised by physicians, to get as much rest as possible. Regine officially announced it on Party Pilipinas last Sunday (when people actually thought she would finally clear the cobwebs on her rumored pregnancy).
Iza, on the other hand, is thrilled in taking over Regine’s role. She posted on her Twitter page that she is honored and grateful that the singer-actress chose her to play Tonya/, who is madly in love with the character Dingdong Dantes play.
Sure, Iza can do justice to the role and she can even bring a different flavor to the pretentious character. The final verdict lies on the viewers, especially those who are not in the loop and got surprised seeing Tonya/Tonette as a completely different person. A reasonable and a well-crafted twist could have supported this sudden change. Well, what can we expect from people who believe that they can easily get away with things?
VERY WANG 
Hello
Nice posting