TOP FAVORITES – Beauty expert Jay P. Delgado names the Miss Philippines Earth 2016 top favorites, all of whom are mestizas. German, British, Australian, Viennese, Middle Eastern.
JPD’s piece follows:
The annual Miss Philippines Earth Pageant, getting relevant more than ever, will stage its 16th coronation night, heralding that change is, indeed, coming. Its environmental advocacy of the 5Rs – Re-think, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Respect – is being campaigned in schools all over the country with its beauties going out of their comfort zones and getting their hands dirty by planting trees in open spaces and muddy riverbanks, cleaning up beaches and clogged waterways. The new ambassadors of Mother Earth will be crowned from among this year’s 47 contestants during the grand finale which will be held at the historic Aguinaldo Shrine in Kawit, Cavite on June 11 to be aired on ABS-CBN on June 12 at 10:30 a.m. on the occasion of the 118th Philippine Independence Day.
Highspeed has picked five beauties that have stood out consistently during preliminary competitions and events, as the most likely to bag the coveted title currently held by Angelia Gabrena Ong who is also the reigning Miss Earth, the third Filipina to be so honored. They are:
• Imelda Bautista Schweighart, 21, from Puerto Princesa City. A Filipino-German who was a finalist at the 50th Bb. Pilipinas Pageant in 2013, Imee is a Theater Arts freshman at College in Meridian International.
• Kiaragiel Hamlig Gregorio, 19, representing the Filipino community of London, UK. Kiara is an A-level student of Law, English Literature and Business.
• Shannon Rebecca Pascual Bridgman, 24, representing her mom’s hometown of Rosales, Pangasinan. A half-Australian, Shannon is a college graduate who was born and raised in Melbourne.
• Maria Fatima Diago Al-Sowyed, 25, from Dumaguete City. A junior BA Literature student, Fatima held the title of Miss Bikini Philippines last year.
• Melanie Sun Mader, 24, from Vienna, Austria. The tallest contestant at 5’10”, Melanie is a doctor’s assistant at Aushen Center in Vienna.
