Pinoy male beauty contest in UAE turns ugly over 'prize mess'

A Filipino male beauty contest in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) took an ugly turn after the winners complained their prize money checks bounced. The UAE's first "Ginoong Pilipinas Dubai" pageant was held at the Asiana Hotel's Boracay Night Club on June 10, Gulf News reported on Thursday. Gulf News said the winners complained that two months after the event, there was still no clear explanation on when they will receive their prize money. Ironically, the pageant claimed to foster "selflessness, humanitarian spirit and Filipino glamor" and promised a grand prize of Dh10,000 (P115,654). The Gulf News report said one of the show producers, who requested anonymity, confirmed the incident. "This is only a small problem. I already explained to them [winners] to give the organizers a chance. I invested my personal money in this show and want my money back. They [organizers] should fix the problem and return my money," the producer said. He said the organizers were expecting 600 to 1,000 attendees but only managed to sell about 200 tickets. "We're not running away from our obligation ... The cheques were given only for security purposes. We suffered due to unforeseen events. There's just a delay in the payment of the prize. The winners got all the goodies from the sponsors. We will pay them in full, but we're just sorting out our cash flow problem. No one lost in this contest," Gulf News quoted the producer as saying. - VVP, GMA News