Five to shine for Northern Luzon (Photo credit: Bruce Casanova for Bb. Pilipinas)
There are five (5) Official Candidates of Bb. Pilipinas 2014 coming from up north. And this quintet of lovely Binibinis have their individual strengths to pull away in the competition if given the chance to equally shine. They are:
4 Parul Shah from San Nicolas, Pangasinan
9 Joy Antonette Diaz from Dagupan City, Pangasinan
10 Shauna Indra S. Curran from Baguio City, Benguet
26 Hannah Sheena Manuel from Tuguegarao City, Cagayan
30 Joy Marie Gangan from Ilagan, Isabela
Let me start with Parul since she is the most prominent among the five. Without a doubt, she knows how to play the game more than the other four. Having been part of Bb. Pilipinas Gold, she has the edge in terms of projection, styling and pressure-handling. And at this juncture, she is one of those being picked as major front-runners for one of the crowns. While she may intermittently be overshadowed by the other hyped repeaters, this Fil-Indian stunner could get the last laugh in the end.
Joy Antonette can actually stand in the competition even without the benefit of a Diaz surname tailing her all the time. This Dagupan City bet by way of California is a natural beauty inside and out. She speaks well and is actually a much better looker in person. But how far can she bring these assets when faced with the prospects of defeating a big group of strong contenders? Well, trite as it may sound, by simply being herself. She has qualities that can make her step up ahead of the rest.
Being Scottish-Igorota should be enough reason for Shauna to get noticed easily. The combination alone makes people look at her more intently. But at the same time, the same people will likely notice that she still needs to work her body out to make her swimsuit presentation more convincing. Which is a pity considering that she has excellent communication skills and a smart mind to share.
Three of our Northern Luzoners are in the group pic above. Do they stand out easily for you? (Photo credit: Emerson Cebanico for OPMB Worldwide)
One of the three Hannahs in the batch, Sheena is the girl everyone would love to groom and polish. She is like an almost blank canvas with the potentials of zooming to levels of competitiveness that would point to a possible pageant victory sooner or later. Right now, however, I see her as still in the process of blossoming. She could treat this edition as a great learning experience that would prepare for a more glorious participation next year or in other national contests.
Lastly, the statuesque Joy Marie completes the five. She is the one I was hoping would follow the footsteps of Mutya Datul who hails from the same province. Don’t get me wrong. She has a unique identity that should not be compared to our Miss Supranational 2013 everytime. And she could very well come as a surprise package come finals night. But am I upbeat enough on the possibilities? Not yet. But the next twenty days should give me more certainty in answering that one.
Photo credit: Bruce Casanova for Bb. Pilipinas
So there you have it. The first of five regional groupings for our Sunday Specials. More to come. 
