MISS PHILIPPINES EARTH 2017 “UNMASKED”

MISS PHILIPPINES EARTH 2017 “UNMASKED” 

Forty environment-saavy ladies from all over the Philippines plus a handful from Filipino communities abroad – contestants of the 17th Miss Philippines Earth Pageant – were presented to members of media yesterday afternoon at the poolside of Diamond Hotel Manila.

Unlike during the preliminary judging for figure and form at F1 Hotel in Taguig City last week where the contestants wore black two-piece bikinis with their faces covered by a flimsy black veil, the delegates at Diamond Hotel were “unmasked” wearing environment-inspired swimsuits by noted designer Ricky Abad and flashing their best poses and smiles.

At the end of the event, Samantha Viktoria Acosta, an 18-year-old entrepreneur from Pulilan, Bulacan was awarded the gold medal as Darling of the Press. The silver was won by Kim de Guzman, 25, from Olongapo City, while the bronze was shared by Anne Krishia Antonio, 22, of Porac, Pampanga; and Catherine Cabaniag of Panglao, Bohol.

The reigning queens – Miss Philippines Earth Loren Mar Artajos, Miss Philippines-Air Shannon Rebecca Bridgman, Miss Philippines-Water Melanie Mader, Miss Philippines-Fire Fatima Al-sowyed and Miss Philippines-Eco Tourism Charinna Barro – took turns in hosting the well-attended event while Carousel Productions’ executive vice president Lorraine Schuck was all smiles and couldn’t hide her excitement at the never-before-done events for this year’s edition.

“In this day of social media, netizens can follow the pageant every step of the way as we take them with us to the most controversial part of the pageant to reveal what goes on during the usual closed-door selection process which determines the finalists’ names we announce on coronation night,” shared Ramon Monzon, chairman and CEO of Carousel Productions that has been staging the event and its international counterpart, Miss Earth Pageant, for the past 17 years.

Indeed, the preliminary selection process, including for beauty of face and poise and intelligence and dedication (to the environment) goes live stream through the Miss Philippines Earth page on Facebook,

The grand coronation night will be held at the Mall of Asia Arena on July 15, with live streaming by Rappler, with telecast on ABS-CBN and The Filipino Channel on July 16 at 10 AM before ASAP.

One with Miss Philippines Earth in advocating the protection and preservation of the environment are: Diamond Hotel (official residence), SM Markets, Coco Life, Ricky Reyes Salon Stylists, Kittco Travel and Tours and the Miss Earth Foundation. Malaya Business Insight is one of the media partners as it has been in the last 17 years.