Matching beauty with brains, a licensed veterinarian was crowned Miss Manila 2017 by Mayor Joseph “Erap” Estrada during the coronation night of the city’s prestigious beauty pageant Saturday night, which capped the weeklong celebration of the 446th Araw ng Maynila.
Maria Gail Tobes, 22, bested 29 other Manileña beauties as she took home the most coveted crown and P1 million worth of prizes, consisting of P500,000 in cash and a management contract with Viva Live Entertainment.
Miss Manila 2016 Cristelle Tolentino passed the crown to Candidate No. 11 Tobes, who was born in Northern Samar, during a star-studded coronation night led by Mayor Estrada, former senator Loi Estrada, and Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach at the Philippine International Convention Center.
Coming in second was Francesca Camargo (Candidate No. 23). Diana Mackey (No. 18) finished third, followed by Sofia Sibug (No. 7). Rounding out the Top 5 was Naelah Alshorbaji Almazik (No. 21).
Tobes, who was crowned by Wurtzbach, also joined Binibining Pilipinas early this year. Tobes graduated cum laude at the University of Eastern Philippines.
In congratulating Tobes, Estrada said the new Miss Manila queen “personifies what our beloved Manila is — beautiful, exquisite, empowered, and full of grace and passion.”
The pageant’s beneficiary for this year is the MARE Foundation, chaired by Estrada’s daughter Jackie Ejercito. The foundation regularly conducts medical missions and other socio-civic programs in Manila.
“That is why I can tell all our candidates that even if they were not chosen as Miss Manila, they are already winners because you have helped the poor of our city,” Estrada pointed out.
Estrada revived the annual Miss Manila pageant when he assumed office in 2013 to bring attention to the city’s rich culture, and “to the beauty, intelligence, inherent generosity, and kindness of the Manileña.”
The beauty pageant, Estrada said, symbolizes his administration’s continuing vision to bring back Manila’s old beauty and as Asia’s “Pearl of the Orient.”
He recounted that Miss Manila originated from the Miss Carnival Queen in the early 1900s. In 1925, his late mother Maria Marcelo was crowned Miss Carnival Queen.
Apart from Wurtzbach, the other judges during Saturday’s coronation night include Russian Ambassador to the Philippines Igor Khovaev and actress Nadine Lustre.
