No more Ms. Cebu for me
No more Ms. Cebu for me
CEBU City Mayor Tomas Osmeña said he will not revive the Miss Cebu pageant.
In his news conference yesterday, Osmeña said he prefers the Festival Queen pageant, calling Miss Cebu an event that’s “only for the rich and connected.”
“We will evaluate, but I don’t like Miss Cebu. I like the idea of promoting the Festival Queen,” he said.
While the Festival Queen pageant has been around since the early 2000s, the Miss Cebu pageant has been the Sinulog festival’s main venue for promoting tourism.
Established in 1984, the Miss Cebu pageant was run by the City Government through its tourism office.
The pageant was originally called Miss Sinulog, but was then changed to Miss Cebu Tourism.
It was launched to promote Cebu as a tourist destination.
The oldest running beauty pageant in Cebu, it was supposed to hold its 33rd stage this year, but Osmeña ordered the event stopped when he assumed office last July.
Aside from pointing out that the pageant was only for the rich, he said canceling the event is one way of reducing the City’s expenses.
The City Government spends around P200,000 to P300,000 for the event to be staged.
In recent years, it has been held in the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino.
“Miss Cebu is becoming elitist. It’s not really for the people. If you’re connect- ed, if you’re close with the mayor...and the City will spend a lot of money. For what?” he said.
Osmeña, however, clarified that the private sector can organize their own Miss Cebu pageant, but the City Government won’t be spending for it.
“The private sector can do Miss Cebu, even Miss City Hall. I don’t care, but we’re not going to spend any money for it,” he said.