The glamorous and beautiful Ms. Cory Quirino -- a tri-media personality, celebrated columnist, author of several best-selling books, in-demand motivational speaker, wellness guru, and recently-appointed national director and licensee of Miss World Philippines—is in Los Angeles for a few days.
The author of the best-selling book Forever Young: Cory Quirino’s Guide to Beauty and Wellness, captivating Cory was the guest of honor at the “Miss Beauty of the Philippines” pageant finals held at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles, CA on July 23, 2011. The winner will be one of the finalists in the Miss World Philippines to be held on September at the PICC in Manila.
The granddaughter of the late President Elpidio Quirino, Cory anchors DZMM’s Sunday Well-News Program, Ma-Beauty Po Naman. She is also seen on The Good Life on the ABS-CBN News Channel and The Filipino Channel.
Apart from TV and radio, Cory writes the column Inside Out in the Lifestyle Section of the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
She became a crime fighter, after surviving being kidnapped in 1995. She is the vice president of the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption and is currently a member of Board of Trustee and Over-all Chair of “Alay sa PGH” fund-drive of Philippine General Hospital Medical Foundation; chairperson for the Street Children Committee of the Rotary International District 3830; and chief endorser of the Coco Movement of the Philippines—”Kalusugan, Kayamanan, Kagandahan” under the auspices of the Philippine Coconut Authority.
Asked when her interest in health and wellness started, Cory told Asian Journal, “Ever since I was a small child. I remember I must have been around 6 or 7 years old when my father offered me a T-bone steak. It had blood in it and I could not bring myself to eat it. I gave it to the dog beside me. I don’t know why, but I have always wanted to eat healthy and live healthy.”
“The foundation of beauty is good health. The secret to being beautiful is being healthy,” she said. “Health and beauty are synonymous. They are connected!”
Cory lives the wellness lifestyle—eating food that are low fat, low sugar, low sodium, high fiber. She drinks a lot of water, makes sure she gets more sleep and manages her stress. She also protects herself from the harmful effects of modern day living with a Fusion Excel quantum pendant, made from natural minerals that produces scalar energy which helps to restore energy that has become weak in the body and maintains health and well-being.
Another advice Cory gives is to eat raw food first (like salads) before cooked food. In the mornings, before taking anything else, she drinks 2 glasses of lukewarm water with a squeeze of lemon or calamansi. If there is no lemon or calamansi, she adds apple cider vinegar or sukang Iloko. “It’s for cleansing the body and for controlling cholesterol,” she said.
She scrubs her body with virgin coconut oil and bathes in fresh milk. “Unpasteurized milk is best as it is high in lactic acid,” Quirino said. But she has one advice to everyone: “Think beautiful, do beautiful, act beautiful, and embrace the wellness lifestyle.”
“My advocacy is to make the country healthier and more beautiful. Love yourself a little better,” Quirino said.
Miss World Philippines’ National Director and Licensee
In a big press conference in Manila last January, Julia Morley, chairman and CEO of the Miss World Organization, formally and personally awarded the Miss World license to Cory. The franchise was formerly known as Binibing Pilipinas-World and associated for over 18 years with the Binibining Pilipinas Charities, Inc., under Stella Marquez Araneta.
“I did not apply for it. I have had no experience in staging a beauty pageant before. But Julia Morley told me they have been studying me and have decided to give me the license,” said Cory in an exclusive interview with Asian Journal. She was told that she had the DNA they were looking for—she was high profile, beautiful and capable of managing, producing and staging the search for the next Miss World Philippines.
“The decision was entirely made by Julia Morley who said she prefers a stand-alone pageant for Miss World Philippines,” explained Cory. For the longest time, Bb. Pilipinas has given out several titles: the Miss Universe, Miss International, aside from the Miss World title. Cory added that the Miss World franchise contract is renewable on a year to year basis which allows Julia Morley the annual freedom of choosing whom she wants.
Asked what changes she will bring as the new licensee of Miss World, Cory smiled and announced, “The biggest change is the use of interpreters for the local finalists and the Miss World Philippines. The question and answer portion has been our biggest downfall in the past because our finalists had to speak in English and were not able to speak from the heart. Now, they can answer questions in whatever dialect they are most comfortable with. There will be interpreters in the local finals night and even during the pageant in London.”
Cory also made her first official dramatic move by offering the biggest prize money in the history of the Philippine pageant industry by having a grand prize of P1 million (double the past years’ first prize of P500,000), plus an SMDC Condo unit.
Another big change is that the search for Miss World Philippines has become not only a real nationwide search, but also a worldwide search. Cory has gone around the different regions in the country where regional contests were held in various SM Malls throughout the country. The deluge of inquiries made by potential candidates from abroad pushed them to widen the search even further.
“So many have communicated to us, asking if they can join the contest, even if they are of mixed blood. So, we said yes. We are accepting applicants, even if they were born in another country. As long as they have a parent who is a Filipino. And that they have registered their birth in the Philippine embassy, before the deadline for applications,” explained Cory who is inviting Fil-Ams to join and get a chance to represent the country in the Miss World.
The fact that the Philippines has not had any Miss World winner in history is the greatest challenge which Cory faces. We have had winners in Miss Universe, Miss International, Miss Earth and most recently, Super Model of the World, but the highest placement the Philippines ever got in Miss World was when Evangeline Pascual won 1st runner-up in 1973. She would have been Miss World when the winner was dethroned but Evangeline Pascual reportedly turned down the opportunity. “I believe we will soon have a Filipina Miss World,” said Cory.
The Miss World Philippines Slogan is “Beauty in Giving,” which was inspired by the famous Miss World Slogan “Beauty with a Purpose.”
Taking this corporate social responsibility to heart, the Philippine pageant has adopted the Tuloy Streetchildren Foundation, headed by Fr. Rock Evangelista; and Philippine General Medical Foundation, led by Dr. Greg Alvior, as beneficiaries.
“Let’s never stop searching for the ideal candidate to represent our beautiful country. If you know someone or if you are that someone who can be Miss World, just visit our website and contact me,” encouraged Cory.
(Interested applicants to the Miss World Philippines competition may download and accomplish the application form from www.missworldphilippines.com. The deadline for submission of application form is on August 7. The coronation and pageant night is set for September 18 at the Philippine International Convention Center.)
(www.asianjournal.com)
(LA Midweek July 27-29, 2011 MDWK pg.2)
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
