Crown or not, these Miss Philippines Earth candidates already feel like queens
Eight of the 29 Miss Philippines Earth candidates join beauty expert Mary Grace Juliano (fourth from right), who shared tips on how to look like a queen./ARMIN P. ADINA
MANILA, Philippines — Every pageant has a queen, some even more than one. But for some 2023 Miss Philippines Earth candidates, they do not need to wear a crown to feel like royalty. All they need are moments of self-care and a heart for others.
“I feel like I am a queen because I have the transcendental qualities of commitment, passion, and purpose. And a queen always has to have those to be able to inspire the people in the community, to look up to them,” returning candidate and pageant veteran Yllana Marie Aduana told the Inquirer during the candidates’ visit to the reopening of a wellness and beauty center in Quezon City on April 2.
The 2021 Miss Philippines Earth runner-up, 2021 Miss FIT (face, intelligence, tone) winner, and “Face of Binibini” in the 2022 Binibining Pilipinas pageant said the qualities she mentioned enabled her to tap people “in different sectors like the LGBTQIA+ community, the children, the elderly, the barangay (village) officials to plant trees with me” across all 20 barangays in her town of Siniloan in Laguna.
Another returning candidate is Iris Mabanta from Mabini, Batangas, who said her “persistence” makes her a queen. “When I want something I really go for it, I max out my resources so that I can get what I want. I don’t accept ‘no.’ Right now I’m in this pageant and I’m also a marine scientist, so I can do it all,” said the former candidate from the national pageant’s 2020 edition held virtually.
For Leahrly Curitana from Casiguran, Aurora, her willingness to lead makes her a queen. “When I was in high school, I would always step up to become the leader of the group, because I want to show them how to organize, how to start a project. This is what I’m doing right now. I’m starting a project not only for myself but also for the people around me and the environment,” she said.
Kerri Reilly from Mangatarem, Pangasinan, said putting people before her and her love towards nature and the people make her a queen. “I’ve always been helping out people since I was probably 9 years old. I went to a cancer hospital to celebrate my birthday. And I also helped in typhoon ‘Yolanda,’” said the 2022 Century Superbods finalist.
The Filipino community in California in the United States sent Nicolle Lagera, who believes her “compassion, honesty, authenticity, and perseverance” make her a queen. While Joselle Gregorio from Mariveles, Bataan, and Shaina Nazario from Silang, Cavite, cited their passion as the qualities they possess that make them queens.
But for Jireh Calacala from the town of Jones in the province of Isabela, taking care of oneself makes one a queen. “I think that that is the most important thing that we all should do, to take care of ourselves and to be better each day,” she explained.
The clinic’s CEO Mary Grace Juliano, meanwhile, shared pageant queens’ secret in maintaining their majestic beauty. “They get facials, Korean glass skin facials, which is perfect for the current warm weather. At the same time our bestseller is the glutathione (drip),” she shared.
She also reminded the ladies to always apply sunblock, especially when they need to be out. “It’s a must, it does not choose any age,” Juliano said, revealing that she sprays SPF 50 every two hours when she is outdoors.
The eight ladies are among the 29 aspirants in the 2023 Miss Philippines Earth pageant. The top winner, who will be crowned later this month, will represent the country in the 2023 Miss Earth pageant in Vietnam later this year. Last year’s representative Jenny Ramp finished in the Top 20 of the international competition. EDV
