TAGUM CITY— For the first time since its inception in 2013, the Mutya ng Tagum City pageant will be featuring 23 contestants representing each of the 23 barangays of the city in its 2020 edition.
This, after the local government of Tagum’s City Tourism Office managed to get the nod of the 23 Barangay Captains who certified their respective resident-candidate through a barangay certification which is a newly introduced provision in the guidelines set by the City Tourism Council.
The securing of the 23 barangay representations to the beauty contest was not an easy task according to Tourism Office Head Vicerjean Casiano who said in an interview that some of the heads of the smallest LGU initially said no with regard to the screening of their representative.
Unlike the previous versions of the pageant where the screening of the candidates were handled by the City Tourism Council, this year’s candidates were handpicked by their respective Barangay Captain and the Sangguniang Kabataan chair.
Casiano added that it was a personal victory for her to have been able to turn her dream of having all 23 barangays completely represented in the search for the young woman who has what it takes to be the paragon of the Eagle Wings into a reality.
The city’s premier beau-con where the emerging set of winners will be judged based on their beauty, brains, personality and advocacy, is slated to happen on the evening of March 7, which is also the Araw ng Tagum.
Tagum City Mayor Allan Rellon introduced the idea of moving the date of the holding of the event from November to March as one of the events that would highlight the celebration of the anniversary of the cityhood of Tagum. This also coincides with the city’s celebration of the Feast of Christ the King.
The move was incorporated in the newly enacted Code of Festivals of Tagum City which was approved by the local chief executive on Monday, January 13, when the ladies were presented to a throng of LGU employees, officials and clients.
From among the 23 ladies who underwent a 3-day training relative to their preparation for the competition prior to their first introduction to the public on January 12 at the Gaisano Mall of Tagum Atrium, will be the winners with a guaranteed cash prize of P50, 000 for the Mutya ng Tagum City 2020; and, P30,000, P20,000, P15, 000 and P10, 000 for her respective court.-with reports from CIO/Tagum
