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Manila Bulletin devider Opinion devider Power of wow

Power of wow

Published Nov 24, 2023 04:03 pm

MEDIUM RARE

Jullie Y. Daza

What the Universe lost we are keeping. Michelle Dee, a most deserving Miss U, didn’t win the crown so she won’t be touring the world as her reward (?), all the better for us oglers and fencesitters who are intent on keeping a watch on her right here, at home.


Michelle, whose dad Derek comes from a long line of bankers, should’ve been in the top five to many of her fans, but to an even more dedicated group, in the top three! She’s not only a real beauty, she’s Miss Personality with a capital P. She speaks well, in complete sentences in English (with subject and predicate, ha!) and she’s got lots of poise as well. She’s a De La Salle degree holder in psychology, on top of which she was enrolled in Harvard for a short course in business.


As the daughter of a former beauty titlist, Melanie Marquez, once upon a time the queen of quips and quotes, Michelle spoke sense when she said she did her best but if destiny has other plans, so be it. In a country chockful of beauty pageants for all genders, Michelle’s reign as Miss Philippines has just started. The weather forecast is bright and intriguing, she’ll go far as a crowned head with a heart for understanding people and helping them. Will she involve herself in activities to project herself as a model citizen rather than as a fashion model or endorser of beauty and health products? Will she, like Pia Wurtzbach, move into the arts or would she prefer to set up a finishing school?  


If the report is accurate that she’ll be home on Nov. 27, Monday, we should expect no less than a ticker-tape parade already being prepared to welcome and congratulate Michelle. After that, there’ll be no stopping her. The power of wow held by beautiful women should not, cannot be underestimated. People who are not Filipinos cannot get over the soft power held by lovely Filipinas: their eyes that speak volumes, their skin that combines the smoothest of pale and tanned, their seductive charm that turns into womanly allure at the drop of a tear or the start of a smile. Michelle Dee is all of the above. 

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