By Armin Adina
Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines–“Enough with the bashing!”

Filipino-Scottish Margaret “Maggie” Wilson, the Philippine bet to the 57th Miss World pageant, made the appeal to her kababayans during her send-off party last week at the Araneta Coliseum Gazebo in Quezon City.

The 18-year-old actress and MTV VJ said she needs all the support she can get as she prepares to fly to Sanya, China to compete in the prestigious beauty pageant.

Unfavorable comments

Maggie was reacting to unfavorable comments hurled against her by pageant fanatics on numerous media, including the Internet.

Maggie, who was also adjudged Miss Photogenic in Binibining Pilipinas-World last March, has been enduring scathing comments about her supposedly imperfect looks.

“It’s such a bad habit that we Filipinos have,” Maggie said, referring to the insults.

Up to the last minute, Maggie had to dismiss rumors about her being stripped of her title after questions were raised on her eligibility to participate in the prestigious competition.

She reportedly failed to comply with a pageant requirement: That contestants should at least be a high school graduate during the competition. She was just about to graduate from high school when she was crowned Binibining Pilipinas-World.

“I only heard about it from my friends who asked if what was said on the radio was true,” she recalled. “I just came from the Araneta offices for my training and fitting. I told the Binibining Pilipinas Charities about it, so they released an official statement saying I’m still the girl.”

Maggie chose to brush off rumors, concentrating on her preparations for the finals instead. She said she got valuable tips on how to win the judges’ approval from Miss World finalists Mafae Yunon and Karla Bautista, her predecessor Anna Maris Igpit and 1993 Miss World princess and second runner-up Ruffa Gutierrez.

Maggie will face competition from more than 100 delegates around the world. She finds Angola’s Micaela Reis and the Dominican Republic’s Ada Aimee de la Cruz as among the most beautiful.

In Asia, she believes her strongest competitors are Malaysia’s Deborah Priya Henry and India’s Sarah-Jane Dias. “India always sends strong competitors,” Maggie noted.

Semifinal slot

But she believes her being multi-racial and well-traveled will give her an edge in the competition. She has also prepared for “fast-track” events where the winners automatically earn a semifinal slot.

“I’m doing the sports challenge because I’m athletic. I’ve been hitting the gym a lot-training,” she revealed. “If I do the talent event, I’ll sing a local song by artist Julianne. Her songs are feel-good.”

The 5′9 1/2″ beauty also hopes there would still be SMS voting this year, as in the last five editions. “I’m not sure. There’s still no feedback from the Miss World organization,” she said.

But before she leaves for the Dec. 1 pageant, Maggie begged her fellow Pinoys to “pray for me.”

“I need you to believe in me and what I can do,” she said. “I’m going to give it my all!”

Photo courtesy of the Philippine Daily Inquirer