ShareThisSAO PAULO, Brazil (PhilAmPress) – Philippine Ambassador to Brazil Eva G. Betita finally personally met Philippine candidate to the Miss Universe Pageant Ms. Shamcey Supsup here in Sao Paulo.
Betita has been cheering for Ms. Supsup being a product of the University of the Philippines like her.
In an email to PhilAm Press and Philippines Today, Betita, who served for several years as vice consul and later as consul in the Philippine Consulate in San Francisco, California and head in the Philippine Consulate in Hawaii, reported her meeting with Ms. Supsup.
“I just want to let you know that I was able to visit Shamcey in Sao Paulo,” she told Philippines Today editor in chief Fred Gabot. Betita and Gabot both hail from the town of Binalonan in Pangasinan.
“She is truly beautiful and talented,” said the ambassador who was consul general in Australia before her promotion in Brazil and nearby Southern American countries.
“I wish she could visit Brasilia but she told me that she has to return to Manila the next day after the pageant,” Betita told Philippines Today and Phil-Am Press. The Philippine ambassador holds office in Brasilia, the capital of Brazil.
The Philippine envoy is leading the efforts of the Filipino community in Brazil to boost interest and generate support for the participation of the Philippine candidate to the 2011 Miss Universe Pageant, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila.
Filipinos in different states of Brazil have expressed their desire to take time off from their busy schedule and travel to Sao Paulo to cheer for Ms. Supsup, the Philippine Embassy in Brazil said.
Ambassador Betita personally met Ms. Supsup and Filipino community leaders during her visit in Sao Paulo on August 24.
The Ambassador has been closely coordinating with Philippine media organizations to extend assistance to news teams that will cover the pageant, which will be held in Sao Paulo on September 12, 2011.
Ms. Supsup travelled to Bogota, Colombia for a ten-day training before flying to Sao Paulo, Brazil.
In Brazil, Shamcey has been getting attention and topped the inital online survey which is now part of voting for the 90 candidates participating in the contest.
Based on the latest information from the Binibining Pilipinas Charities, Inc., Supsup has received 25 percent of the total votes in the Miss Universe online voting.
Supsup, with a total of 1,578 votes, was followed by Viviana Ortiz of Puerto Rico with 745.
Supsup told ABS-CBN of her sincerest thanks to the Filipino people for their unwavering support.
“Thank you for always praying for me and supporting me. It has been a roller-coaster ride and I’m getting my strength from all the Filipinos who kept on sending me messages on FB and twitter. Thank you. I will be doing my best,”she said on the network.
In another online voting site initiated by the television network Telemundo, Supsup also took the lead with 1,288,817 votes.
Venezuela came to a close second with 1,0671,101, and Nicaragua secured the third spot with 688,234.
The 2011 Miss Universe people’s choice online poll will be open until September 11.
Shamcey is a magna cum laude graduate of UP and topped the licensure examination for architecture of the Professional Regulations Commission.
She is following the footsteps of Ms. Gloria Diaz who won the contest in 1969 and Ms. Margie Moran who got the crown in 1973.
Last year, Miss Universe Philippines 2010 candidate Venus Raj placed 4th runner-up in the pageant edition in Las Vegas, Nevada.
This year, the 60th edition of the prestigious pageant, a semi-final slot will be given outright to the contestant with the highest average vote online. To vote for Shamcey, log on to www.missuniverse.com and click the CONTESTANTS page. Under “Philippines-Shamcey Supsup,” click on “VOTE.” Complete the form and give Miss Philippines a “10” ranking, then click on “Submit vote for Philippines.”
The contest will be shown live in the morning of September 13 on ABS-CBN.