Bikini Open Manila
John Carlo Romero and Kramae Labrado are the grand winners of Pao Manaoag Pangasinan's Bikini Open 2016 - Mr. & Ms. Summer Bodies, Season 6, The Cosplay Edition.
John Carlo Romero and Kramae Labrado with the runner up winners
(from left to right) Nidz Reyes, Jaydan Lapira, Michael Yhang, Marla Razon, Kramae Labrado, John Carlo Romero, Aubrey Diaz, Xian Pascual, Arjhem Vergara, Mikaela Mendrez
This fabulous event happened on the 1st day of May, year 2016 at the Pao Elementary School Auditorium in Brgy. Pao Manaoag, Pangasinan.
Everything about the pageant is outstanding. My expectations based from the promotional poster disseminated in social media were met, exceeded actually.
The Venue
Pao Elementary School Auditorium happens to be perfect for the event. It is very accessible to everyone even to tourists - bikini open pageant fans, observers, critics, reviewers, and bloggers (like us) - as it is situated along the main road and are just minutes-away-drive from the most popular landmark in the municipality, the Minor Basilica of Our Lady the Rosary of Manaoag. The auditorium though has enough distance from the main road and didn't cause any distraction all throughout the event. The venue can accomodate large amount of audiences and even the people outside the auditorium will be able to witness the competition through the oversized LED screen on stage.
The stage is intelligently designed. Its minimalist backdrop of white panels with dark horizontal patterns gave the stage a wider illusion as well as making the models appear much taller. Lit with varying colors together with the light from the LED screen and spotlight, it consistently produced creative rim effects and lit well the models. On that note, every bit of models' movements were clearly witnessed by everyone in the auditorium. Also, the stage-fireworks fired in perfect timing are icing on the cake.
Guests & Judges
I never expected to have celebrity guests and judges in this pageant. To name a few, JC Tiuseco (the first ultimate survivor of Survivor Philippines) and singer DJ Alvaro graced the event. JC and DJ joined the other judges.
Judges are separated into 2 groups, 1 panel to judge only the male category and the female category for the other panel which I think a brilliant idea.
There are also Kapuso Stars who gave song numbers in between segments.
Graded Segments
The contestants wore 5 types of bikinis in the contest, they are as follows:
Cosplay Bikini
The first graded segment is the competition's theme, Cosplay. It's a bit disappointing that not all of the contestants have complied, I think only 50% of them. The organizers should have pre-screened the bikini-costumes for this theme. Not a big issue though, it only slightly weaken the concept.
Neon Rave Bikini
This party segment is sponsored by Mixxshots, they also have a booth near the stage.
In this special segment, the contestants went downstairs and offered shots to selected individuals from the crowd. This is one of the highlights of the event where the loudest cheers from the crowd were heard.
The set of bikinis provided and used by the contestants are really striking.
Designers Bikini. The provided white bikinis are sexy and elegant. Some of the contestants styled it with additional accessories and made it more appealing.
Choice Bikini. In this round, the contestants are given the chance to wear their personal choice of bikini to impress the judges (and audience) for the last time with their ramp modelling skills, and yes, with their sexy stunts. This is the equivalent of the showdown round that we are used to, the only difference is it doesn't leave an over-sensual vibe, which is excellent.
Red Bikini. This is the final type of bikinis worn by the contestants. Also, their personal choice but I think this is not graded anymore. Red bikinis were only used as the contestants' final attire during the awarding of winners.
The Candidates & Awards
Almost all of the model-contestants both male and female are class A's. Most of them are familiar faces and achievers of such pageants, indeed armed with their exceptional runway skills, great physiques, and beauty. A testimony of an exciting show to expect and was amazingly delivered.
Below are the candidates with the award/s they received (major, minor, and corporate awards):
Male Models
#1 Jaydan
#2 Xian
#3 Carlo• (null)
#4 Bjorn• (null)
#5 Prinz
#6 Nash
#7 Archie
#8 Johnrell• (null)
#9 Arjhem• 4th Runner Up, male category
• Best in Cosplay Bikini
• Mr. Ngiting Sikat
• Mr. Mixxshots Choice Award
#10 John Carlo• Male Grand Winner, Mr. Summer Bodies 2016
• Best in Neon Rave Bikini
• Best in Designers Bikini
• Cj Cuison Glamteam Award
#11 Allan• Mr. Beauche International
#12 MichaelFemale Models
#1 Mikaela
#2 Abigail• Ms. Beauche International
#3 Princess• (null)
#4 Kramae• Female Grand Winner, Ms. Summer Bodies 2016
• Best in Cosplay Bikini
• Best in Neon Rave Bikini
• Ms. Ngiting Sikat
• Ms. Royale
• Face of Mr. & Ms. Summer Bodies Season 6
• Ms. Body Beautiful
#5 Marla• 1st Runner Up, female category
• Best in Designers Bikini
• Ms. Katawang Sikat
• Queen of the Ramp
• Cj Cuison Glamteam Award
#6 Aubrey• 2nd Runner Up, female category
• Ms. Mixxshots Choice Award
• Stylist Choice Award (by Milton Stylist)
#7 Nidz
#8 Angelica• (null)
Based from the introduction video, the contestants are supposed to be 12 pairs but unfortunately only 8 girls showed up and I noticed some of them are not mentioned in the AVP.
With the exceptional line up of contestants and their remarkable skills in the ramp, it is a tough fight among model-contestants and definitely not an easy job to the judges. Everyone literally deserves to win. I have almost the same opinion with the judges to their chosen recipients of the minor and major awards. I can confidently say that this is a fair competition.
Overall Review
The production team - Mindworks Events Production, Milton Salinas (based on the promo poster) - absolutely did a great job and made this event successful. The tandem of the host and DJ-voiceover is excellent. Program flow is near perfect with very little dead moments. The lighting, audio & video, and overall design of the venue are well managed and organized. I honestly feel that I am witnessing a national pageant. With no question, everything is professionally done!
Amongst all of the bikini open pageants I have covered, Mr. & Ms. Summer Bodies Season 6, The Cosplay Edition is hard to beat and by far one of the bests. Indeed deserving for a glaring positive review, congratulations!