Who will be ‘it’?

A new Miss Earth (2016) will be chosen tonight at the MOA (telecast tomorrow morning, Sunday, starting at 10 o’clock on ABS-CBN) to succeed the Philippines’ Angelia Ong who scored a back-toback with 2014 Miss Earth Jamie Herrell in Vienna, Austria last year.

Eighty-three so-called “Earth Warriors” are competing for the crown. As Ambassador of the Earth, the winner will travel around the world to carry out the pageant’s mission to encourage people to help protect the environment. The court of honor includes Miss Earth-Air, Miss Earth-Water and Miss Earth-Fire.

Funfare’s “beauty experts” Felix Manuel and Celso de Guzman Caparas came up with their annual “most likely to win” bets. Felix listed 22 and Celso, 16. They agreed on the following 11 choices (at random):

1. Austria — Kimberly Budinsky, 21, 5’8”, a Theater Acting student;

2. Brazil — Bruna Zanardo, 24, 5’10”, model;

3. Colombia — Michelle Alejandra Gomez Bustos, 24, 5’7”, model and Psychology student;

4. Denmark — Klaudia Parsberg, 25, 5’9”, Psychology student;

5. Ecuador — Katherine Elizabeth Espin Gomez, 23, 5’8”, model and cosmetologist;

6. Italy — Denise Frigo, 22, 5’9”, model;

7. Philippines — Imelda Bautista Schweighart, 21, 5’7”, Theater Arts student;

8. Russia — Aleksandra Cherepanova, 19, 5’10”, Law student;

9. Sweden — Chloie Syquia Skarne, 22, 5’7”, Global Management student;

10. USA — Corrin Stellakis, 19, 5’9”; Communication & Social Interaction student; and

11. Venezuela — Stephanie Ysabel De Zorzi Landaete, 23, 5’9”, model.

Here are the nine others on Felix’s list (at random): • Czech Republic’s Kristyna Kubickova, 18, 5’6”; • England’s Luissa Burton, 26, 5’9”;

• Mexico’s Itzel Paula Astudillo, 21, 5’8”;

• Peru’s Brunella Fossa, 24, 5’9”;

• Japan’s Ami Hachiya, 24, 5’6”;

• Kenya’s Grace Wanene, 23, 5’7”;

• Uruguay’s Valeria Barrios, 21, 5’8”;

• Hungary’s Eszter Oczella, 23, 5’9”; and

• Thailand’s Atcharee Buakhiao, 20, 5’8”. And the five others on Celso’s list:

• Australia’s Lyndl Kean, 26, model;

• Canada’s Tamara Jemuovic, 22, entrepreneur;

• Indonesia’s Luisa Andrea Soemitha, 21, student;

• Nigeria’s Chioma Tyra Obiadi, 21, Geology student; and

• Serbia’s Teodora Jankovic, 18, student.

(E-mail reactions at entphilstar@yahoo. com. You may also send your questions to askrickylo@gmail.com. For more updates, photos and videos visit www.philstar.com/funfare or follow me on www.twitter/therealrickylo.)