Iloilo lass wins Miss OFW pageant in Kuala Lumpur

MANILA, Philippines—A 27-year-old lady from Carles town in Iloilo won the Miss Filipino Workers Resource Center 2011 crown in a pageant held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on September 18.

FWRC 2011 winner Chickie Dumalag (center) is joined by (from left) Ana Liza Miranda from Batangas (4th runner up), Ronalyn Amboy from Pangasinan (1st runner up), Jennifer Oso from Antique (2nd runner up), and Noemi Carpio from Kalinga Apayao (3rd runner up).

Chickie Dumalag bested 12 other candidates, who are all overseas Filipino workers enrolled at the Filipino Workers Resource Center skills training given by the Philippine Overseas Labor Office at the Philippine Embassy in Malaysia, the Department of Foreign Affairs said.

The center provides weekend classes for overseas Filipinos in computer technology, digital design, internet application, culinary arts, dressmaking, baking, basic nursing and home care, reflexology, traditional massage, shorinji kempo, paralegal and accounting.

There are more than 300 Filipinos enrolled in various courses that run for 10 months in the Malaysian capital.

Asked how the courses at the center benefited her during the Question and Answer portion, Dumalag said, “It enhanced my personality and capabilities.  I also learned the value of respect, particularly with my fellow classmates, my teachers and seniors.”

Dumalag also won the Best in Talent award.

A Bachelor Science in Information Technology undergraduate before becoming an overseas worker in Kuala Lumpur, Dumalag is a first-time student at the workers center taking up the Adobe Photoshop course.

Labor Attaché Dr. Alicia D. Santos urged Filipino workers to enroll in any course that interest them and will help them prepare for their eventual return to the Philippines.  She challenged them to improve their skills and become more marketable.

Winners of special awards were Jennifer M. Oso, Miss Photogenic and Miss DiGi Filipino; and Noemi O. Carpio, Best in Evening Gown, Best in Filipiniana, Best in Casual Wear, Best in Sportswear, Miss Charity and Miss Congeniality.

The Miss FWRC was organized by the POLO, in cooperation with DiGi, one of Malaysia’s leading telecoms service providers.