One new addition to the minutia of activities related to a beauty pageant came about due to the rise of social media in the everyday lives of the community. Where before, the winners of the titles and special prizes are decided by votes from the judges, and even the organizers and stuff, online polls have become one of the norms, sometimes deciding its own categorical winners and sometimes being added to the judges’ scores. The same goes for Miss Universe Philippines. And in this 2021 edition, a celebrity boyfriend of a celebrity contestant is mobilizing his social media fandom to campaign for his girlfriend’s win.
As the Philippine Star would have it, some Kapamilya Power is being called for in the Miss Universe Philippines 2021 pageant. ABS-CBN singer JK Labajo of “Buwan” fame has begun enjoining his followers on Instagram to participate in the competition’s online poll. The candidate to push: JK’s girlfriend, German-Filipina model-actress Maureen Wroblewitz, also known as Kapamilya talent Maureen Wrob. Online votes will factor into the placement of the candidates towards the top spots, so Labajo’s online fandom could just make a difference. It also feels hard to say no to him, not with the way he worded his IG post.
On his entry dated July 27, JK writes his request of support for Maureen as if he himself were a run-of-the-mill fan-boy and Wrob as merely his crush, in hopes that she would “notice” him. He even adds a hilarious put-down of people uninterested in helping out, calling them “pangit/ugly.” Wroblewitz already commented on the ad hoc campaign, greeting Labajo as “crush,” much to the glee of the other fans commenting on things. JK just played up the ensuing social media fun by telling Wroblewitz that he was already “taken.”
That aside, Maureen Wrob has some pretty solid perks going into her bid to be Miss Universe Philippines. Being the first Filipina winner of “Asia’s Next Top Model” is nothing to sneeze at, after all. And becoming a Kapamilya this year would have tapped her into a solid fan base too, with a showbiz boyfriend “managing” the online poll efforts to boot. Time will tell if the gambit by JK Labajo works out as MWP 2021 heads towards its coronation night this coming September 25, on ABS-CBN’s KTX.ph streaming platform.
Image from Philippine Entertainment Portal
Morgan Magazine 