FOR a number of Filipinos born with the right genes and willing to work odd or flexible hours, becoming a ramp or advertising model in the Philippines used to be a very lucrative way to earn serious money. A hardworking newbie model could easily earn 200 percent more than a fresh business graduate. And with professional fees fetching up to P10,000 for a fashion ramp gig to an advertising contract in the millions, modeling was the ?golden ticket? for many young and beautiful Filipinos.

That is, until the ?Brazilian invasion.?

Discovered and brought into the country by enterprising modeling agencies, Brazilian nationals have started to turn the modeling market upside down, not only because of their gorgeous physique and dazzling mixed features, but also because of their willingness to work reportedly at 80 percent less than their local counterparts. A Filipino model, whose rates range anywhere from P5,000 to P10,000 per show, could easily be upstaged by a Brazilian model who allegedly accepts fees as low as P1,500 a gig.

A call to a local agency that manages or works closely with Brazilian models to verify this claim yielded scant information. ?We?re not allowed to divulge the rates of Brazilian models, but on paper, the professional fees for Brazilians and Filipinos are the same,? was the curt reply we got. It?s a vague answer that does nothing to clarify the issue. But then again, it is quite acceptable in the industry for models to be flexible with their fees, depending on the products and services they are being asked to represent.

Since the boom in the late ?80s and ?90s, the demand for upcoming Filipino models has gone into a slow decline, as the jobs got harder to come by. Soon enough, even modeling fees started to plunge dramatically. The pinnacle gig ? a regional or four-country commercial lock-out beauty contract ? which at one time could easily net a million pesos, is now a hard sell at P200,000, minus the agent?s 30 percent commission.

By 2008, Filipino models were looking to darker times ahead ? and the global recession had yet to hit. Still refusing to buckle down, the Professional Models Association of the Philippines (PMAP) mounted a show dubbed ?Modelong Pinoy? within the year, hoping to recapture the market?s wandering attention with their professionalism and call to national pride. The event got its fair share of press and public notice, but did little to alter the fact that the Brazilians have continued to get more work for less pay.

Despite some of the Brazilian models? allegedly unprofessional behavior, like smoking in dressing rooms, carelessness with the outfits and bratty behavior, they have continued to be hot and much in demand. Even the glaring fact that some of them were working without the necessary labor permits barely caused a ripple in government offices. The PMAP reportedly contacted the immigration office to apprise them of the situation, only to get a response from this government office along the lines of them having ?bigger issues to deal with than the mere source of bread and butter [among foreign models].?

The Filipino models have thus faced the reality of having to get down and dirty and political, aligning themselves with someone willing to fight their cause.

It does not help at all that they do not even know who the actual enemy is. Surely not the barely 20-year-old Brazilian models who are only trying to earn a living, most of them being breadwinners. Or could it possibly be their agents, who invest heavily on these Brazilian beauties in terms of advancing money for their airfare and living expenses, and hoping to get a good ROI from their pretty cash cows before they hop to their next destination, perhaps to pursue further studies, or seek bigger price tags in search of other dreams?

?[But] a lot of the Filipino models are breadwinners, too, and they?re losing a lot of jobs to these Brazilian models who charge lower fees,? Bianca Valerio of the PMAP, says. The fashion show scene is a very small world and there isn?t an endless supply of jobs to go around, she explains. ?The sad part, though, is that we are actually losing jobs because of other Filipinos, because these Brazilians are represented by Filipino agents who negotiate for lower fees.?

The PMAP acknowledges, though, that with the global recession and ad spending on a downward spiral, big business can hardly be faulted for opting to go cheap on talent fees. It?s a no-win situation at the moment and no one seems willing to move an inch either way.

?Sometimes it feels like a lost cause because it?s not about our looks [a model?s currency],? says Valerio. ?But price should not just be the issue. We can?t lower our standards, and we can?t and won?t compete that way.?

Prior to the Brazilian onslaught, the PMAP standardized modeling fees among directors, photographers and ad agencies, adopting international standards based on a model?s book (his or her body of work) and popularity. This was all thrown out the door when ad directors were given the option of paying P5,000 for a Brazilian for a one-month telecom ad versus shelling out P50,000 for a Filipino based on this standardized pay scale.

Industry observers have also noted that, perhaps because they come from a different culture, Brazilians are less inhibited than Filipinos and are more flexible when it comes to lay-outs. For instance, Filipino models often charge a slightly higher talent fee for swimsuit ads or fashion shows where they bare more skin, but Brazilians charge the same fees, no matter the skin exposure involved. From a business perspective, it makes sense to go with the Brazilian.

But price is not always the issue, some advertising executives argue. As one Creative Director explains: ?[It all] depends on the requirement and the overall look, of course. Casting is very crucial for the success of an ad. Personally, I don?t look at the nationality to pick out talents. I go for the overall look of the models. If they look the part, regardless of their nationality, then they deserve the role.?

Local designers largely remain noncommittal when it comes to the race or ethnicity issue. They claim to choose models based on who can showcase their designs better, regardless of whether they?re Pinoy or Brazilian.

Designer James Reyes thinks ?local models have an advantage. They know the local designers so they are familiar with the look, walk and style of the models we like and can present themselves accordingly at go-sees.? Len Nepomuceno-Guiao, on the other hand, admits: ?I like that there are new faces to choose from.?

Rajo Laurel candidly shares: ?It?s healthy to have foreign models ? it makes our models more competitive. My choice really depends on the needs of the campaign, but if it were all up to me, I would choose Filipino.?

For now there doesn?t seem to be any easy answers. No matter how hard the local models? union PMAP stamps its stiletto and knocks on doors to register its protest, the fact remains that Filipino models have stumbled and are being crushed underfoot by a veritable Brazilian invasion. ?