Binibining Pilipinas 2025 candidates strengthen ‘sisterhood’ in La Union
Binibining Pilipinas 2025 candidates (from left) Kathleen Espenido, Katrina Ann Johnson, and Beatriz Abalajon/IMAGES FROM THEIR FACEBOOK PAGES
More than a month since they became official candidates in the 2025 Binibining Pilipinas pageant, the ladies got to nurture their sisterly bond in a trip to La Union.
The 36 candidates in this year’s edition of the longest-running national pageant went on a three-day visit to the northern Luzon province earlier this month, just a week before the much-awaited press presentation show back in Manila.
Pangasinan’s Jenesse Viktoria Mejia found the trip exciting because she got to show her pageant sisters the region, many of whom have never explored that part of the country.
“I was always like, ‘how was the trip? How was the north? Welcome to the north. This is my life. Come, enjoy it.’ It’s really amazing, the sea is beautiful. They can see it, and I can see it as well that they enjoyed the trip,” she told INQUIRER.net in an interview.
Annabelle McDonnell from Iligan City was one of the first-timers in the region. “I’m from way down south in Mindanao. So things like what you guys put in halo-halo, these are elements that I haven’t really gotten in touch with, with my Filipino identity. And I think that I learned a lot from that trip. We had lot of fun, and I’m definitely going back to La Union, it’s so breathtaking,” she said.
Binibining Pilipinas 2025 candidates (from left) Annabelle McDonnell, Jercy So, and Cyril Reign Nulud (right) learn how to make La Union-style halo-halo./ARMIN P. ADINA
Returning Binibining Pilipinas candidate and former first runner-up Katrina Ann Johnson confessed that she stayed in La Union for only five hours during her first visit, and immensely enjoyed her return to the province.
“It’s very fun, a really nice opportunity to bond with the girls. I think that was the make or break moment where we really felt the sisterhood. So I’m really happy that we were able to have that experience early on rather than later,” she said.
During her first stint in the pageant, the delegates went to Dasol in Pangasinan, also up north. And Johnson said she packed light this time around, learning her lesson from her previous competition.
Siargao lass and former “Pinoy Big Brother” housemate Kathleen Espenido turned nostalgic. “Last month I’ve just been to Santorini, and it’s just beautiful. And I can really truly remember Santorini in Thunderbird. It’s really nice, it’s a really nice experience and I wanna go back,” she shared with INQUIRER.net.
Pageant veteran and former Miss Eco Teen International first runner-up Beatriz Abalajon said Santorini is one of her dream destinations. “You can get a taste of that just in the Philippines. I was so happy, it was super nice,” she said.
McDonnell agreed: “It’s like 70 hectares worth of Santorini glamor. So I love Thunderbird, I really appreciate it. Their staff was super hospitable. But moreover, their food was so absolutely fantastic, super fresh seafood.”
Espenido and Mejia both said they will definitely look back at the time they enjoyed with their fellow candidates as regular young ladies, and not thinking of the competition at all.
“That’s the first time I was with the girls [on a trip]. It was very beautiful, we were swimming and it was such a beautiful experience,” Espenido said.
Mejia shared the same sentiments: “It was the best experience of my life. And I will never, ever replace it wIth whatever experience that I had before,” she said.
But it was not just all fun for the Binibinis. They also got to strike poses in front of the camera. And many of them cannot wait for the fans to see the photos and the videos that will be used in promotional plugs and for the final competition show.
Returning candidate Anne De Mesa from Batangas said, “it’s my first time to experience a three-day shoot, a bit challenging. But it was also really fun because it’s my first time to shoot at a beach. I’m really excited.”
Johnson, for her part, said, “I felt like it was all of my magazine dreams come to life. I felt a little bit like ‘The Little Mermaid.’ It was a lot of fun.”
She continued: “I’m really looking forward to seeing the output, because I was able to see the other Binibinis modelling and they looked incredible. So I can only imagine how the pictures are gonna turn out. So I’m excited for everyone to see that.”
McDonnell also expressed her excitement. “We had video shoots across the beach. And we also had individual shots on the boulevard, and across the resort. I am very much looking forward to those long gown photos dropping very soon,” she shared.
She also said she cannot wait to flaunt the “little bit of tan” she got in La Union at the much-anticipated press presentation show on Thursday afternoon, May 22, at the Novotel Manila Araneta City in Quezon City.
The 2025 Binibining Pilipinas Grand Coronation Night will be held at the Smart Araneta Coliseum at the Araneta City on June 15, with a telecast on TV5 on the same evening.
