...the Miss Tourism International 2013

 

Philippines wins 2013 Miss Tourism International
 

by Robert R. Requintina
January 2, 2014

ANOTHER PINAY WOWS THE WORLD (AP) — Angeli Dione Gomez of Cebu City reacts after being crowned as 2013-2014 Miss Tourism International in Putrajaya, Malaysia, on Dec. 31, 2013. She took the crown from another Cebuana, Rizzini Alexis Gomez, the previous winner of the international beauty pageant.

Angeli Dione Gomez, 20, was crowned 2013 Miss Tourism International in the beauty pageant held in Putrajaya, Malaysia on New Year’s Eve.

Angeli won the 2013 title, succeeding Rizzini Alexis Gomez, the 2012 Miss Tourism International. Angeli and Rizzini, who are both from Cebu City, are not related.

She is the third Filipino to win the Miss Tourism International title, the first was Maria Esperanza Manzano in 2000. Her win gives the Philippines the record for the country with the most number of titles in this pageant.

New Year’s Eve Pageant

In the New Year’s Eve pageant, Angeli Gomez, who stands 5’6, bested 59 other candidates in the contest which started at the final hour of 2013 and ended as the New Year entered.

First runner-up honors went to Miss Thailand Sunidporn Srisuwan; Miss Australia Sarah Czarnuch, second runner-up; Miss Dominican Republic Michelle Alexis Torres, third runner-up; and Miss Malaysia Thaarah Ganesan, fourth runner-up.

Beauty Queen Destiny

The new Miss Tourism International is a film major from the International Academy of Film and Television in Mactan.

Angeli believes that she is destined to become a beauty queen. “Beauty queens are born, not made,” the Cebuana beauty said.

She was also crowned 2012 Reyna ng Aliwan and joined the 2013 Bb. Pilipinas Gold Edition and Miss Resorts World in 2011.

In July, 2013, she was crowned 2013 Mutya ng Pilipinas Tourism International in a beauty contest held in Taguig City.

Mutya in Germany

Meanwhile, fellow “Mutya” winner Andrea Koreen Medina of Quezon City won third runner-up in the 2013 Miss Intercontinental contest in Madgeburg, Germany, last December 14. It was the highest place the country achieved since Maria Sovietskaya Laviano Bacud placed second runner-up in the same pageant in 1993.

2013 Beauty Queens

This was the second time in 2013 that beauty queen mentor Rodgil Flores produced an international beauty queen. Last December, Bea Rose Santiago won the 2013 Miss International beauty contest in Tokyo, Japan. 2005 Miss International Precious Lara Quigaman Alcaraz also belonged to the “Kagandahang Flores” group.

The year 2013 finished with an impressive four major crowns for the Philippines and Top 5 placements in international beauty pageants.

In 2013, Mutya Johanna Datul won the first title for the country in the Miss Supranational contest in Belarus.

It was followed by Megan Lynne Young, the country’s first Miss World, in a pageant held in Bali, Indonesia;

 

Bea Rose Santiago, 2013 Miss International;

and now Angeli Gomez, 2013 Miss Tourism International.

Miss Philippines Maria Isabelle Zaragoza Mendoza, of San Beda College, was also crowned 2013/2014 Miss Campus World contest in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia last December 6. Mister Philippines Ronald William de Dios finished second in the same contest.

 

Other notable placements were Ariella Arida, third runner-up, 2013 Miss Universe contest in Moscow, Russia;

Gil Wagas, fourth runner-up, 2013 Mister International contest, Bali, Indonesia;
and Ali Forbes, 2013 Miss Grand International pageant, in Bangkok, Thailand.

 

...the Top Economies of 2028

Philippine economy forecast to be among the top 30 by 2028

BusinessWorld Online

02 January 2014

THE PHILIPPINES is expected to become one of the world’s 30 biggest economies by 2028, buoyed by improving macroeconomic fundamentals and a continued global reordering, a United Kingdom-based think tank said.

People walk among debris next to a ship washed ashore in the aftermath of super typhoon Yolanda at Anibong, Tacloban in this Nov. 11, 2013 photo. The storm, which killed over 6,100 poeple and caused some P36.7 billion in damage, is expected to weigh on near-term Philippine economic growth. -- AFP

“We forecast that the Philippines will rise gradually from 42nd position in 2012 to 28th in 2028,” the Centre for Economics and Business Research said in its World Economic League Table (WELT) report for 2013.

Released annually, the WELT identifies the world’s 30 biggest economies based on nominal gross domestic product (GDP). It also forecasts which countries will be in the top 30 in five, 10 and 15 years.

“This year’s report is updated to take account of the likely surplus of energy and falling oil and gas prices in the 2020s, weaker commodity prices than had previously been expected and the sell-off of some emerging market currencies in mid-2013,” CEBR said.

It noted that the Philippine economy was currently being weighed down by the aftermath of super typhoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan), which devastated parts of the country last November.

The impact is expected to extend to this year, particularly in terms of agriculture output.

“But it (the Philippines) is expected to recover in 2014 and 2015. Meanwhile, the improved outlook for the US economy is important for the Philippines, which has much closer economic links with the US than other ASEAN economies,” CEBR said.

The country’s projected rise in the rankings, it noted, has to do with an expected reordering among economies.

For 2013 the US continued to best other nations in the WELT, followed by China, Japan, Germany, and France, respectively. Rounding out the top ten were the United Kingdom, Brazil, Russia, Italy, and Canada. Russia overtook Italy to gain 8th place, while Canada snatched 10th from India, which fell to 11th.

“Below the top 20 some of the changes are more dramatic -- Iran drops from 21st position to 30th as sanctions bite; South Africa drops from 28th out of the top 30 (to 33rd) as strikes, slow growth and a weakening currency affect its position,” the report noted.

CEBR predicts that by 2028, China will replace the US to become the world’s largest economy. India is likewise seen to overtake Japan to become the world’s third largest economy. Japan will fall to fourth, and Brazil, seventh in 2013, will climb up to fifth.

“The UK is the West’s second-best performing economy. Indeed it is the only major Western economy expected to move up the league table becoming the world’s 5th largest economy in 2018 by overtaking France. After that it slips back to 7th place in 2023 and 2028 as India and Brazil overtake,” CEBR said.

“But by 2028 the UK economy is forecast to be only 3% smaller than the German economy and is likely to overtake Germany to become the largest Western European economy around 2030.”

More emerging economies will start climbing up the ranks by 2018, it said, a trend seen to continue in the following ten years.

“By 2028 the league table is being reordered. China has moved to No. 1; India to No 3. Mexico is in the top 10 at No 9. Korea and Turkey are 11th and 12th and have overtaken France,” it said.

“As symbols of the new world order, Nigeria, Egypt, Iraq and the Philippines break into the top 30. All the latter group depend on maintaining or in some cases regaining political stability.”