Pinoy secures spot in Top 15 of male model tilt in Korea

The Philippines’ representative to the male model contest Manhunt International 2011 secured a spot in the Top 15 during the finals on Monday. Twenty seven-year-old model Ron Marvin Miranda went up against 47 other men from around the world in the competition held in Seoul, South Korea. The country has yet to secure its first title from the longest-running male model pageant. The highest rank a Filipino has gotten was a 2nd runner-up finish by Vincent Pinto in 1997. Twenty six-year-old Chen JianFeng took home this year’s title, making China the first in the pageant’s history to win Manhunt International twice. Following JianFeng were:

Dominican Republic’s Nelson Omar Sterling (1st runner-up);

Belgium’s Gianni Sennesael (2nd runner-up);

Vietnam’s Truong Nam Thanh (3rd runner-up and Mr. Popularity); and

Slovak Republic’s Martin Smahel (4th runner-up). According to the pageant’s website, Manhunt International started out as the first male model contest in Singapore in 1987. It branched out to international participants in 1993. The Philippines hosted the pageant’s finals in May 1991, when Venezuela’s Ernesto Calzadilla became the first Latin American to win the title. - Rose-An Jessica Dioquino, Gayna Kumar, VVP, GMA News