Binibining Pilipinas 2019 - Martina Turner Diaz

Candidate number 3. Martina Turner Diaz, 22, Muntinlupa City.

Gorgeous girl with a great bod. My biggest issue with her is that 1: She looks like Vickie Rushton. Which isn't so bad, except when you see Vickie, you see Vickie, but when you see Martina, you still see Vickie.

Martina Turner Diaz

Good thinking on BBP's part to keep them away from each other, with Martina at #3, and Vickie on the opposite end at #38. Their number assignment means they're also the same height! Issue #2 is that, yes, she's no taller than 5'6. While winning is doable for girls on the petite side, it takes some serious redeeming quality to get noticed by judges on stage. Imagine being in a row of 40 girls, all of them pretty and sexy, and you looking like at least 3 of them. I say three, because, she also resembles Gazini Ganados, Binibini 12:

And Ilene De Vera, Binibini 19:

You don't see it? Here they are side by side: 

Sometimes Ilene resembles Vickie due to the thin and long-ish face shape, Caucasian nose, eye shape and veneers, but when you see Ilene, you see Ilene, not Vickie. I know Martina is a nationals newbie, which is why she has not established her own identity yet. However, it's been over a month since the filing of application, and we still do not see Martina engaging the public with her story, her shoots, or her opinion on things that matter. Where is Martina? Who is Martina?

To be fair, Martina can look like herself and no one else when she's not all dolled up for BBP events:

See how fresh, young and pretty she is? Which is why it's such a shame she isn't as gung ho as the other girls: frontrunners, dark horses, newbies and veterans alike. She seems chill, carefree, and oddly quiet. Which can be a good thing if her game plan involves "knowing when to peak." Of course, it is a bad thing if she joined BBP 2019 only to test the waters for later editions. She's only 22 so that's possible. It's also a little sad that while her advocacy is sweet and genuine, it's not exactly unique as it is Gazini Ganados' exact advocacy LINK

Here she is with a different advocacy:

All in all, Martina is a diamond in the rough. She's relatively young, and would need at least 2 years of training and polish. She has decent comm skills, decent pasarela, good enough stage presence, and with the right hair, makeup and styling, she can enter top 15 in June. Right now, I am as unsure of her as she seems to be of her BBP stint. I trust though that if she spends the next two years committed to an advocacy, body work, self mastery classes, and shameless self-promotion on social media, one crown is already hers for the taking in BBP 2021. After all, the official Miss International IG account liked a photo of hers. That photo however, is the one where she looks like Vickie, and rumor has it that MI is already rooting for the crown-hungry veteran Vickie.

Surprise us, Martina. We're still rooting for you.