Binibini Ba 'To 2011

Last February 23, 2011 was the day of the awaited Binibini Ba‘To, the annual male cross-dressing pageant held by GeoSoc for the College of Science. The event was included in the week-long celebration of the College of Science week, together with other events like the Big Band Theory (battle of the bands) and the CS Idol, as a result of the partnership done with the College of Science Student Council (CSSC). The theme of this year’s Binibini Ba‘To was “Victor’s Secret: The Clash of the Heavenly Bodies”, in coordination with the theme of the CS week, Big Bang.

The participants for this year were UP Association of Biology Majors (UP ABM), UP Association of Chemistry Majors and Enthusiasts (UP ACME), Agham Youth, UP Chemical Society (UP ChemSoc), UP Department of Science and Technology-Scholars’ Association (UP DOST-SA), UP Geology Majors Society (UP GeMS), UP Molecular Biology and Biotechnology Society (UP MBBS), UP Pre-Medical Honor Society (UP PMHS), UP Pre-Medical Society (UP PMS), and UP Marine Biological Society (UP MBS). Before the pageant, a photoshoot with the contestants was done with the UP Optics in the NIGS AVR in preparation for the exhibit to be released a few weeks before the event itself. They had a shot with their casual outfit as a male, and a bikini shot as a female.

The exhibit, which served as a teaser for the event, contained information about the contestants, and their male and female photos. The exhibit was a silhouette of a female with wings made from cardboard painted black and with highlights of silver on the wings. It started roaming around the CS buildings a week before the event until the event itself.

A few hours before the start of the event, everyone was busy preparing – the backdrop, the venue, the projector, the lights, the stage, the props. But when everything started, everything went smoothly. The hosts of the event were Emmanuelle Manoguid and Roxy Saguido, two very funny and energetic students from the College of Mass Communication of UP Diliman. The three judges who participated in the event were Mr. Raymond Rodolfo from the National Institute of Geological Sciences, Mr. Jason Petras from the Fil. Department and Ms. Pat Bringas from UP Babaylan.

            The first part of the program was the opening dance number led by some members of GeoSoc, which eventually led to the entrance of the contestants. Then came the wings part, in which the contestants showcased their wings made up of recycled materials, all while wearing their bikini. And after each walk on the stage, they all promoted a certain product from Nivea in their own way. This served as the act-it-out portion of the program. This was followed by the talent portion, and we must say that the contestants this year put a lot of effort for their talents, for they all presented really great in their performances. Last, but definitely not the least, was the Long Gown and Q&A portion. The contestants wore their beautiful dresses and were asked to pick a paper containing the name of a judge that will give their question.

Before the announcing of the winners, a quick intermission number was done by UP SIKAT with the song Telephone by Lady Gaga. After this, the contestants came back on stage wearing their wings for the announcing of winners. For the minor awards: the Binibining Aries award (we need not explain this in full detail) was awarded to UP MBS; the Gon-duh Wings award (contestant with the most beautiful wings) to UP MBBS; MaCASHiopeia award (contestant who garnered the most number of votes by the piso-per-vote system thru the use of vote boxes) to UP Pre-Medical Honor Society; Ms Supernova award (contestant with the best talent based on the scores given by the judges) to UP GeMS; and Ms. Planet of the Apes award (most manly-looking contestant) to UP ACME. And for the major awards, third place as Bb. Pandaigdig was UP GeMS, with a score of 87.22%. Second place as Bb. Bulalakaw was UP MBBS with 88.89%. And for the first place as Bb. Pangkalawakan and this year’s winner of Binibini Ba‘To 2011 was UP PMHS with 93.10%. The contestants were awarded with prizes from Folded and Hung, Jobs DB, Marks & Spencer, NIGS Canteen.

After months of preparation and everyone’s time and effort, the Binibini Ba‘To was a huge success. This was also the most attended Binibini Ba‘To (according to the CSSC) event. Everyone had a good time, and was thankful that everything went out great. We assure you that next year would be an equally or more successful event. We hope to see you next February for Binibini Ba’To 2012!#

- Marga Mahor