The Thrillmaker will surely have a soft spot for this year’s batch of Misters of Filipinas candidates after having been given the privilege to sit as judge for the competition right from its final callback; to the preliminaries; and up until the final coronation night. Having been there every step of the way, gave us the chance not only to actively participate in the competition’s various phases but, more importantly, get to know the people competing for the crowns really well—their motivations, their struggles and how these translate to their drive to achieve their goals. Judging there the whole time was actually like being a part of their entire journeys.
After preparing for their appointments with destiny for many months, even years for some, pageant life for this year had to end in an instant for all the rest of the gentlemen the moment the winners were announced on that Newport Performing Arts Theater stage. After Ormoc’s James Reggie Vidal was named as this year’s king, along with the six other members of his court, all the others had to immediately pack their bags and switch “back to reality.”
So how and what are the “other” Misters doing now? Are they in some corner sulking for their missed opportunity? Surely not. These achievers have other dreams that they are now working on fulfilling outside of the pageant spotlight.
ARCHAN PEREZ, Misters of Calamba, Laguna. An Industrial Engineer working in a top electronics firm, he chose to resign from work to join this year’s Misters of Filipinas. Finding a new job became his priority after his campaign ended in the Top 20: “Since dito naman sa Newport World Resorts ginanap yung finals ng Misters of Filipinas, dito na rin ako naghanap ng work. So ngayon, kakatapos ko lang ng interview and, luckily, nagustuhan naman ako ng mga boss and mag-start na rin ako magwork dito sa Newport as a safety officer.” Archan intends to make a pageant comeback in the future: “Hintayin po natin yan. Hindi po ako titigil wala akong nakukuhang korona.”
JOSHUA CANEDO, Misters of Minglanilla, Cebu. A civil engineering graduate, Joshua works in a service provider for one of the country’s largest telecommunications firms. Only a few hours after the coronation night ended, he immediately went back to work, which he does from home. Given the flexibility in his work schedule, he intends to take an active part in the work being done by the Misters of Filipinas Organization. “I plan to work with the organization since we share the same advocacy, which is, education for all. I will go back to my life as a professional as well and if given a chance to venture to other career paths, I would take every opportunity that comes in my way.” Joshua says he will prepare hard for his MOF comeback next year. “I still plan to prepare myself to come back stronger on the national pageant stage.”
ELJOHN TAGUBA, Misters of Cagayan de Oro. Coming very close to making it to the winners’ circle and bagging two special awards (Mister Photogenic and Mister Newport World Resorts Epic Man), Ej is grateful for his MOF experience. Now back in his native CDO, he is also back into content creation as he is a local social media influencer/celebrity in his hometown with an engagement of over a million across various social media platforms. “My Misters experience will definitely help me establish myself as a more influential personality online. Already, my followers have grown significantly during and after the pageant. The awards I’ve won have opened up new doors for me for more gigs, advertising opportunities and new endorsements. I may have to consider relocating to Manila sometime soon,” he shares. Committed to finishing his studies, he is decided on not pursuing pageantry anymore: “I’ve always been clear in saying that I will do national pageantry only once and I’d like it to be in MOF. Now, that one chapter of my life is already done.”
ROSELAN MARK NARCA LIMCO, Misters of Palawan. Palawan’s delegate to the MOF is a civil engineer who was in the middle of reviewing for a licensure exam prior to joining the national search. Catching up on precious family time became Roselan’s road to “normalcy” after the pageant’s culmination: “Nakipag-bonding po ako sa mga kapatid ko and cousins, namasyal, nagmall, uminom. Matagal ko din po kasi silang hindi nakasama and lumuwas lang sila dito from Palawan para makapanood po ng laban ko.” He’s also now back to his review materials for an all-important test: “I will be focusing on work na po, and mag-e-exam po kasi ako for Materials Engineer 2.” Roselan is open to joining another national pageant sometime in the future.
ISAAC JONATHAN BARLAO, Misters of City of Santa Rosa. Someone who, pageants fans, will surely see more of in the future is Isaac Barlao—but, for now, he intends to immediately wrap up work on his education: “Right after the competition. I got back to my usual routine and focused more on my studies. Currently I am a second year college student from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Santa Rosa campus.” While making the shift back to school with ease, he admits to having to still get used to his post pageant life: “I am still in the phase wherein I am used to be incredibly busy with shoots, practices etc.” Reason why, a pageantry comeback in the near future isn’t far-fetched: “I am looking forward to join again in other pageants but this time I will be joining with the very best version of myself.”
VINCENT RINON, Misters of Pulong Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa. Nineteen yea-old Vincent, has all the time in the world to stage a return to the pageant scene and he does intend to: “Mag-papalakas pa po ako at i-impove ko po yung mga dapat ko pa pong ma-improve, para sa susunod ko pong pagsali, handa na po ako.” A psychology sophomore, he also wants to focus now on his studies after having lagged a little because of his pageant participation: “Pagkatapos po ng pageant, bumalik po agad ako ng Laguna. Kinabukasan po noon ay balik-eskwela na po ako. Hinabol ko po ang mga naiwanan kong activities sa school.” Guess, he also wants to catch-up on winning a crown the moment he thinks he’s ready: “Magpapalakas po ako, promise po.”
In her farewell walk as Miss Universe, Catriona Gray articulated that in their pursuit of dreams, people are “never denied, only redirected.” Let’s see how destiny redirects these very deserving gentlemen into better, bigger things in the future.