Reigning Miss Philippines Earth and 2023 Miss Earth-Air Yllana Marie Aduana/ARMIN P. ADINA
The hunt for Yllana Marie Aduana’s Miss Philippines Earth successor is heating up, as the group of ladies who are aiming to inherit her crown will be introduced on April 6.
Months after the initial call for applicants, the Miss Philippines Earth 2024 pageant has finally concluded its search for official delegates, and the successful ladies will be presented through the national pageant’s official online platforms.
Some of the official candidates have already taken part in some events, including the Miss Philippines Earth pageant’s observation of Earth Hour at the Circuit Event Area in Makati City on March 23.
The presentation of all the delegates will be livestreamed on the Miss Philippines Earth Facebook page and YouTube channel on April 6 at 8 p.m., and it will also be the first activity where they get to earn points in the competition.
Included in the three-man panel of judges for the presentation of delegates is this writer, who will be joined by online content creators Adam Genato and Norman Tinio.
The 2024 pageant is the 24th edition of the national competition that pushes for environmental protection. The winners, as well as the candidates, are expected to spearhead projects that promote sustainability, and encourage the people to adopt a lifestyle that prevents further harm to the planet.
During her national competition last year, Aduana visited all 20 barangays in her hometown of Siniloan in the Province of Laguna to rally her townmates behind a sustainable lifestyle.
After winning the national crown, she went to New York to attend a United Nations global conference on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that the body has adopted. There, she had the opportunity to discuss the “disheartening reality” that many Filipinos are still not aware of the goals.
And in the runup to her participation in the 2023 Miss Earth pageant, Aduana went to all 17 regions of the Philippines to spread awareness on the 17 SDGs, that UN-member countries are supposed to achieve by 2030.
She was crowned Miss Earth-Air at the culmination of the 2023 Miss Earth pageant in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam in December, with the top prize going to Drita Ziri from Albania.
The Miss Philippines Earth 2024 winner will represent the country in the 24th Miss Earth pageant in Vietnam later this year, and try to become the fifth Filipino woman to win the title after Karla Henry (2008), Jamie Herrell (2014), Angelia Ong (2015), and Karen Ibasco (2017).