Binibining Pilipinas 2019 - Jessica Marasigan

Okay so this will be a series of early reviews for all 40 candidates of the 56th edition of the Philippines' most prestigious beauty pageant. Opinions are going to be based on social media, press releases and official posts of Binibining Pilipinas.

Candidate #1 is Jessica Marasigan, 25, Malabon City.

photo from her IG https://www.instagram.com/jessicamarasigann/

First impressions - young, fresh, coachella-going millenial who possibly plays the uke and has a small tattoo on her wrist. She has this Kelsey Meritt look and aura, and though it's downplayed, you can tell she either has a non-Filipino parent or she grew up in the States. She also looks like a cuter, less angular, more Filo than white, Pia Wurtzbach. It's odd though how she sometimes looks like a young Almira Muhlach, mother of Reina Hispanoamericana Filipinas 2017, Alyssa Alvarez:

Photo from her IG

And here's an old-ish photo from Google, with the whole Kylie Jenner aestheticism. Love the lips.

Being Binibini #1 means she's one of the shortest in this batch. BBP follows a pyramid formation, assigning the tallest girls with the numbers at the middle (11 to 29), and the shorter ones with the first and last numbers (1 to 10 and 30 to 40). Being candidate #1 also means she's given the responsibility of opening the show, so this girl probably impressed the members of the initial screening panel. By the photos alone, you can tell she's not a long limbed, long necked, statuesque beauty queen. She's 5'5.

I don't watch local TV so I had no idea that Jessica is a celebrity. I only found out after checking her IG profile and seeing she's one of the most followed Binibinis of this batch:

Now, we should all know by the past years' Miss Universe editions how important social media is in winning international pageants. Organizations need spokespersons and product endorsers, they need somebody who can command followers to purchase products, support advocacies, and share causes. In spite of Jessica's height, and unbeautyqueenlike physique, I'm convinced why she was chosen as Binibini #1.

Imagine my surprise when I found out that Jessica wasn't a reluctant halfie who was told by Pinoy relatives she should definitely join beauty pageants. You know, typical Pinoy relatives, going all, "Mag Miss Universe ka! Ang ganda ganda mo!" whenever their taller than average, mestiza niece from abroad comes home to the Philippine Islands for a visit. Jess ain't one of em reluctant halfies. Jessica is in fact a pageant veteran, even back in the States! Her impressive wins so far:

• 1st Runner Up, Miss Philippines-USA 2012
• Binibining Pilipinas-USA 2013
• Miss Philippines Water, Miss Philippines Earth 2017

Here she is, as part of Miss Earth Karen Ibasco's royal court: 

Kim De Guzman. Sigh.

I've seen her interviews, and she's one of the most spontaneous and relaxed speakers of this batch. English is her first language, she's a pageant veteran, and she's a TV personality who sings, dances and hosts, so this shouldn't be a surprise. What I feel she needs to improve are the following:

1. Her advocacy.

Catriona Gray changed pageantry for the better when she stayed true to her advocacies before, during and after her pageants. Jessica crossed over from Miss Earth, and I guess when you come from an advocacy-centric organization, you're expected to show proof that you've done something out of your pageantry platform. Maybe Jessica just isn't the type to brag about her Miss Earth causes, or her other charity projects, she did say in her BBP web interview video that she's rallying for out of school youth but 'ya know, as a fan, I'd love to see them on her social media profiles. This is the time to shine the light on her projects, she should take advantage of the clout. She's probably going to win more fans and followers if she makes an effort to show what she's joining BBP for.

2. A leaner, toner physique.

As mentioned earlier, Jessica is not someone you'd expect to have joined and won 3 national beauty competitions. She's cute, she can look like an Instagram model, I'm sure she's gorgeous in person, but she's not the type that fits the beauty queen mold. I get that she's not tall at all, and there's nothing you can do about that past your teenage years lol. But you can strive for Jehza Huelar proportions, and yoga, pilates, lift, and cardio your way to a long, lean, toned body. This is doable in a few weeks - Jessica's current figure only needs minor improvements.

3. Hype Machinery.

Now, hype does not necessarily guarantee success, BUT it does help improve a candidate's chances at gaining more followers, getting media mileage, and for all we know, judges may actually check fan predictions and leaderboards. Now is not the time to chill. Jessica does not need to employ professional trolls to spam comments sections of pageantry accounts, but she needs to at least make her presence felt in the fan community.

~My predictions~

I feel like Jessica will fare better in Miss Multinational, she reminds me of Sophia Senoron and Kimi Mugford. Or some Miss Tourism contest where height is not a major factor. In order to fare well in BBP franchises or in the Big 4, you need at least 3 of the following to compensate for below standard beauty queen height: 

• a tearjerker backstory
• an undeniable stage presence (a la Teresita Marquez of the Phils)
• universal appeal and facial beauty (a la Olivia Culpo of the US)
• massive social media popularity (a la Demi Leigh Peters of SA)

But then again, if Jessica works hard on promoting an endearing or compelling advocacy, improves her physique just in time for the nationals, and gets a team of supporters clamoring for her inclusion in the final night's 8 slots of title holders and runners up, she might just have a shot. She has 80,000 followers, friends in local showbiz, and mainstream recall, which she can all leverage to get noticed by pageant fans and decision makers. With the perfect wardrobe, styling, pasarela, stage performance, and Q&A, she just might bag the Miss Globe Philippines crown.