Thirty-six ladies are vying for five crowns in the 2022 Miss World Philippines pageant. (ARMIN P. ADINA / INQUIRER)
MANILA, Philippines—The 2022 Miss World Philippines pageant has attracted a lot of familiar faces, seasoned national beauty contestants who are making this year’s competition not only exciting but also more difficult to predict.
Among this year’s 36 aspirants is returning delegate Gwendolyne Fourniol, the French-Filipino teacher who finished in the Top 15 in the pageant’s 2021 edition.
Instead of trying her luck in another national contest, the representative from Negros Occidental opted to take another shot at the Miss World crown because of the competition’s advocacy platform.
She hopes to highlight the ERDA Foundation which was instrumental in uplifting her mother’s life as an impoverished child in Negros Occidental.
The organization, she said, has been providing education to those in need, and she would like to help more children get in schools by championing their cause as a Miss World Philippines titleholder.
“I owe my life to ERDA, my mom was rescued by ERDA,” Fourniol shared with a select group of media scribes in a conference held at Luxent Hotel in Quezon City recently.
Tsina Jade Chu of Iloilo province (ARMIN P. ADINA / INQUIRER)
Another veteran in this year’s pageant is 2020 Miss Philippines Earth runner-up Tsina Jade Chu from Iloilo province, who said the Miss World Philippines pageant’s “Beauty With a Purpose” platform “aligned with my strength and my core values.”
At the sidelines of the candidates’ press presentation held at the Cove Manila club of Okada Manila in Parañaque City, Chu told the Inquirer that “more than anything else, I realized that the core of this pageant is beauty with a purpose, and I’ve been in several outreach programs, I’ve interacted with people of different cultures, beliefs, and backgrounds, and I’ve witnessed the lives of many communities.”
Gwendolyne Fourniol of Negros Occidental (ARMIN P. ADINA / INQUIRER)
Both beauties are included in the Top 5 in the Talent Challenge, and the Top 11 in the national costume competition.
Chu’s “Beauty with a Purpose” project is also among the Top 10, while Fourniol made it as one of the Top 10 in the Top Model and Beach Beauty challenges, and Top 13 in the Head-to-Head challenge.
2020 Miss Universe Philippines semifinalist Paula Ortega from Albay, however, has advanced in the most number of preliminary competitions so far.
She was in the Top 13 of the head-to-head challenge, Top 11 of the national costume competition, Top 10 of the Top Model, Beach Beauty, and Beauty With a Purpose challenges, and Top 5 in the Talent challenge.
Also from the Miss Universe Philippines pageant is Parañaque City’s Ingrid Santamaria who is in the Top 13 of the Head-to Head challenge, Top 11 of the national costume competition, and Top 10 of the Beach Beauty challenge.
Other veterans include Binibining Pilipinas alumnae Cassandra Chan from San Juan City and Maria Gigante from Cebu who both bagged the Best in Creative Editorial Fashion Photo award, Kimberly Tiquestiques from Balagtas, Bulacan, who is in the Top 11 of the national costume competition, and Justine Felizarta who is also in the Top 11 of the national costume competition, and Top 10 in the Beach Beauty and Beauty With a Purpose challenges.
Miss World Philippines 2021 Tracy Maureen Perez (second from right) savors the last days of her reign with fellow 2021 queens (from left) Miss Supranational Philippines Dindi Pajares, Miss Environment Philippines Michelle Arceo, and Second Princess Janelle Lewis. (ARMIN P. ADINA / INQUIRER)
Chan is also in the Top 13 of the Head-to-Head challenge, Top 10 of the Top Model and Beach Beauty challenges, and Top 5 of the “Sports” and Talent challenges.
Mutya ng Pilipinas alumna Lady Justerinnie Santos of Bulakan, Bulacan, is likewise in the fray, and has entered the Top 11 of the national costume competition, Top 10 of the Beauty With a Purpose and Beach Beauty challenges, and Top 5 of the Sports challenge.
Another familiar face is Makati City’s Ashley Subijano Montenegro, daughter of 1994 Miss World finalist Cara Subijano and former model and host Hans Montenegro.
Montenegro bagged the Miss Charm Philippines crown in the 2019 Global Asian Model Philippines competition, and was set to represent the country in the inaugural edition of the Miss Charm pageant in Vietnam, but the global tilt was sidetracked by the COVID-19 pandemic and organizers have yet to announce a new schedule.
First Princess Riana Pangindian (left) and Reina Hispanoamericana Filipinas Emmanuelle Vera. (ARMIN P. ADINA / INQUIRER)
For the 2022 Miss World Philippines pageant, Montenegro cracked the Top 10 of the Top Model challenge and Top 5 of the Head-to-Head challenge. She also received the Miss Le Meur Body award during the press presentation.
The 2022 Miss World Philippines coronation night will be staged at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City on June 5, with former titleholders Katarina Rodriguez, Laura Lehmann, and Valerie Weigmann sharing hosting chores.
Thirty-six ladies are vying for five crowns—Miss World Philippines, Miss Supranational Philippines, Miss Eco Philippines, Reina Hispanoamericana Filipinas, and Miss Eco Teen Philippines.