The first time I watched the Lakan at Lakambini Pageant was 2010. Back then, I was just a spectator and my friends were the judges. Needless to say, I was impressed by the pageant and the depth of talent and grace that the candidates had. They were a fun batch of young kids I enjoyed talking to. And they were good looking too.

So when my good friend, Orman Manansala master events engineer of Project O! Consultants, invited me to judge the Lakan at Lakambini ng Gen San 2011, I immediately said yes. The pageant show was going to be on February 23, 2011 and I was going to General Santos City on February 22.

On February 21, 2011, I received a call from Orman asking if I would be able to make it to Gen San on February 21, 2011 for the closed door casual interview with the candidates. After re-arranging my schedule, I said yes and braced myself for an interesting afternoon with 20 of the most gorgeous and dashing youth of General Santos City.

The Lakan at Lakambini ng Gen San 2011 is a beauty, talent, and personality search and 25% of the final scores of the candidates were from their performance during our closed door casual interview. I was a bit nervous coz it was my first time to do this sort of thing, but I was also very interested in the process.

The interview of the Lakan candidates was interesting. It had it’s share of drama, comedy, and a bit of talent showcase. It was interesting to hear young guys talk candidly about their lives, ambitions, love interests, their futures careers, and even about their abs. LOL! They reminded me of my high school friends. Best quote from the guys: “My abs look better when I’m wearing trunks.”

But what left me in awe were the Lakambini candidates. The ladies were very gracious even when asked the silliest questions. They were pretty, charming, and smart. I loved how most of them talked to us candidly and answered each question thoughtfully. And some of them even shared with us their vulnerability and their weaknesses. It was overwhelming. I never did have their grace and composure when I was their age. Best quote from the Lakambini candidates: “I only took up nursing to please my mom. Now I’m going to do what I want.”

At the end of the afternoon, I was in a conundrum. I had my favorites. And there were a lot of them. The girls were gorgeous, gracious, and smart. And they guys were charming and candid. I came out of the casual interview with a newfound respect and admiration for the brave and confident men and women who put themselves out there and join pageants. As Direk Dino Veloso and Sir Johnny Abad said, win or lose, the candidates will definitely earn and learn something from the experience. As did I.

The casual interview definitely influenced how I judged the pageant night. But that’s another blog post all together.

Congratulations to Project O! Consultants for the wonderful staging of Lakan at Lakambini ng Gen San 2011! Looking forward to more exciting events from you. And kudos to all the candidates. Make us proud. 😉

Photos by Montage Photography.