The Limgas na Pangasinan pageant returns after a ‘pandemic pause’ with 25 candidates from all over the province./ARMIN P. ADINA
LINGAYEN, Philippines — The Limgas na Pangasinan pageant has come back from its pandemic pause with a bang, with two queens set to be crowned in the finals, and are already guaranteed to carry the province’s banner on the national stage.
“Our winners will automatically compete in the national level. We have two major titles, World and Grand International,” the pageant’s chairperson Maan Tuazon-Guico, wife of Pangasinan Gov. Ramon Guico III, said at the presentation of candidates held at the Elizabeth Hall of Monarch Hotel in Calasiao, Pangasinan, on March 26.
She announced that the provincial pageant has inked a memorandum of understanding with the Miss World Philippines and Miss Grand Philippines pageants to grant automatic slots to the eventual Pangasinense queens in their respective national competitions.
Both national pageants are under the ALV Pageant Circle of talent manager Arnold Vegafria, who serves as the national director of both the Miss World and Miss Grand International contests in the Philippines. He has already partnered with several other provincial tilts granting the winners automatic entry to his competitions.
Ericka Mae Antolin from Urdaneta City told the Inquirer at the sidelines of the presentation that she is ready for the challenge. “That’s the reason why I also joined Limgas this year, to prepare myself, to be able to gain a good platform for my future advocacies, and be able to represent the country in the international stage, if hopefully I am fortunate to win the national pageant, and I get to represent the province of Pangasinan,” aniya.
Ericka Mae Antolin, Urdaneta/ARMIN P. ADINA
Rona Lalaine Lopez from Mangaldan also sets her sights further on the global stage. “I believe I am ready to represent my province on the international level. Because if I am ready for Limgas na Pangasinan, I do believe that I am ready, capable, and with the help of our organization, I know that in the long process, I will become better than today,” she said.
“I know with the strong dedication that I have, I can win Miss Grand International or Miss World,” declared the pharmacy student at Saint Louis University who was crowned Miss Mangaldan last year.
Rona Lalaine Lopez, Mangaldan/ARMIN P. ADINA
Antolin, a tourism management student at the WCC Aeronautical and Technological College, told the Inquirer that when they joined the provincial pageant, they did not know yet about Limgas na Pangasinan’s partnership with the Miss World Philippines and the Miss Grand Philippines pageants. The candidates only learned about the collaboration “when we had our contract signing and briefing,” she said.
In an interview with the Inquirer, Gov. Guico expressed his excitement for the first staging of the Limgas na Pangasinan pageant under his watch. “Coming from very restrictive movements we can have this event once again for the province. And we’re doing this with a bang,” he said.
The governor said he hopes to crown winners who are “just like my wife, she should be industrious, hardworking, there should also be a genuine heart for the people, for family, for friends, a godly woman. Those are the traits that I would like to see in the next queen of Pangasinan.”
The pageant is part of the month-long celebration of “Pista’y Dayat” in the province, which also includes the 443rd “Agew na Pangasinan” festivities. The 2023 Limgas na Pangasinan coronation night will be held at the Capitol Plaza in Lingayen on April 29. EDV