Maria Muriel "Lala" Moral, MRS Universe Philippines 2010! In this pic, she reminds me of the late Chat Silayan, our Bb. Pilipinas Universe 1980...
When I rang up Maria “Lala” Muriel Moral at her home in Labo, Camarines Norte, Bicol, I could hear the controlled excitement in her voice. While she IS excited, Lala Moral also admits she is nervous about competing in the upcoming MRS Universe 2010 in Lithuana Latvia this August; it’s been 20 years since she did beauty pageants so getting prepared for this one is going to take a lot of focus.
Lala Moral first appeared on the beauty pageant scene in 1988 when she won the Bb. Pilipinas Maja International title. Then the Bicolana beauty went on to represent the Philippines in the Miss Maja International 1988 where she won the Best in National Costume and Miss Maja Simpatica awards.
But after that one year of beauty pageants and modeling, Lala Moral, who is a licensed civil engineer, left it all behind to settle down with her hubby Joeffrey Pandi in Camarines Norte, Bicol to build a family. Her life currently revolves around their two boys (Joram who is 13 and Jared who is 7 and a half) and their family business (copra trading and construction projects).
How does the Bicolana beauty queen juggle all of that? Well, for one thing, there’s not much traffic in the town where they live. And just like most women who find themselves with an overwhelming list of things to do, Maria Muriel Moral just learned how to manage her time between business and family.
Full body shot of Maria Muriel "Lala" Moral, Mrs. Philippines Universe 2010
It was her brother Don that rocked her world one day when he called up to say that he sent in an application, on her behalf, to the MRS Universe 2010 Philippines Directress Camilla Kim Galvez (Mrs Universe 2nd Runner-up 2009). He had happened to see the announcement of the search online.
Then, it was doubly shocking for Lala Moral when Camilla Kim Galvez called her to say that out of all the applicants, SHE was the choice for MRS Philippines Universe 2010!
Now that Maria Muriel Moral is getting ready for the MRS. Universe 2010, she is busy in the gym trying to shave down her 57-kilo frame to a shapelier 54 kilos. Her ultimate dream body though would be her weight when she competed in Miss Maja – Lala Moral was a slim 51 kilos in those days!
Actually, her current 57 kilos (125.5 lbs) is not bad at all for a 46-year old woman who stands at 5’4″. But Maria Muriel Moral says the real reason why she is slim for her age is cholesterol!!! When she found out that she had a cholesterol problem a few years ago, her doctors advised her to go on a diet and exercise regimen. She took her doctor’s word to heart and started eating healthy and biking (the sport has become a passion for her) and now the cholesterol problem is under control and so is her weight.
But the biggest blessing Lala Moral has gotten from all of this is the chance to go on another exciting adventure! She says, flying to Latvia to meet and compete with all the other Mrs Universe contestants is going to be a respite from her routinary life of home-business-home in Camarines Norte, Bicol. And of course Maria Muriel Moral promises this – she is going to do her best to bring home the bacon!
SOME MORE INTERESTING THINGS ABOUT MARIA MURIEL MORAL, MRS PHILIPPINES 2010:
Describe family role in your life: Family, next to God, has always been my inspiration and everything.
What are your hobbies?: Reading good books, newspapers and magazines. Biking.
Special talents?: I can play the piano.
Your life ambitions and plans: To be more active in the promotion of women’s rights in the Philippines by starting it in my community.
What is the biggest problem of women’s rights in your country? The lack of medical benefits for the pregnant and trying to be pregnant women (childless wives).
Social Voluntary Activities: I am involved with the social projects of the JCI Labo Niogan like the feeding of street children, visiting and giving toiletries to prisoners, providing free ECG’s to the elderly.
Vital Statistics: 35-25-36
Height: 5’4″
Weight: 57 kilos but losing weight with a 54-kilo goal.
Hi Ms. Joyce Ann! I have a somewhat long comment.
I really like your interesting blogs and varied featured articles!
So there’s an annual Mrs. Universe competition now. Well, that’s good! Miss Universe has now a counterpart. Miss and Mrs. Universe can now work hand in hand with their global causes to help make our planet a better home in the universe to live in…
I’ve known from a reply to your previous blog about Maria Muriel Moral these universal causes and purposes why the Mrs. Universe (project) was organized in Bulgaria in 2007:
To celebrate, honor, and strengthen the image of today’s women of the world who are responsible for the home, family and children, and who play important roles not only in the family (as wives and mothers) but also in the society (as career women in different fields), and to promote and uphold worldwide the significance of marriage and family and good family values as well.
By the way, I’ve read/known from the official website of Bb. Pilipinas that her proper and complete Miss Philippines title is Bb. Pilipinas-Maja International with the word ‘International’ because the complete name and title of the unique, global Hispanic-inspired beauty competition where she represented the Philippines is Miss Maja International (with International).
Also, Lala would be flying to Lithuania (this year’s host country), not Latvia. Mrs. Lithuania, Vaida Ragenaite, is the reigning Mrs. Universe 2009.
If Lala won the crown and title this year, then the Philippines would be the Mrs. Universe host country next year! Cheers!!!
Lala, make the Philippines and the Filipinos proud to the whole world! I’m now one of your avid fans and supporters!
For sure, we’ll support you and pray for the victory of our country through you!
Good luck to you and God bless the Philippines!!!
THanks! Making the corrections now
Thanks for your sharp eye
the blogging beauty queen does make mistakes once in pink moon so… thank God for pageant fans like you who care enough!
[...] Maria Muriel “Lala” Moral Pandi (right), 46 years old, will try to bring home the MRS Universe 2010 crown when she flies to Vilnius, Lithuania. Coronation night: August 22, 2010. [...]
[...] Click here to read my interview with Lala Moral. [...]
just wondering….
i saw her at teevee news a while ago and she was wearing a sash in a special prize she won: Mrs. INTELEGENCE [sic].
correct spelling ain’t one of the categories in the INTELLIGENCE prize then?
Can you please post more recent photos of Ms Lala Moral? the ones shown seem dated.
Hi Joril, at the time I wrote that post, Aug 22, 2010, those were to photos sent to me by Lala Moral and the local organizer of Mrs Philippines Universe so the photos were current for the date Aug 22. In fact, those happen to also be the same photos they sent to the MRS Universe organization in Lithuania. Click here to see the MRS U official delegates page and you’ll see what I mean. Click here to see my latest article on Lala Moral’s experiences at the MRS U.
And you can click here to see Lala in a swimsuit before she left for Lithuania to compete. She told me later that there wasn’t a swimsuit portion in the MRS U which is sayang in my opinion bec it’s a great opportunity for the ladies to show how well they took care of their bodies.
Thanks much Joril!
[...] Maria Muriel “Lala” Moral, our representative to the MRS Universe 2010 had managed to snag the MRS Intelegence award after competing against 21 contestants mostly from Europe. She won the award after judges deemed her comprehensive report on Human Trafficking to be the best one among all the other candidates’ reports. [...]