Boracay rehab hot topic at Miss Earth Philippines Q&A
MANILA, Philippines — Silvia Celeste Cortesi, a 20-year-old model from Rome, Italy, bested 41 other beauties from across the country and Filipino communities abroad to become Miss Earth Philippines 2018.
Eighteen finalists were culled from the 42 candidates. After the evening-gown, swimsuit (nylon Spandex designed by Ricky Abad) and interview rounds, they were trimmed down to Top 10.
Fil-Queensland, Australia - Theressa Anne Mariano
Fil-Vienna, Austria - Brazzierie Yanson
San Rafael, Bulacan – Jean de Jesus
Balingasag, Misamis Oriental – Berjayneth Chee
Fil-Rome, Italy – Silvia Celeste Cortesi
Titay, Zamboanga Sibugay – Halimatu Yushawu
Dumaguete City – Nathalie Louise Roxas
Cebu City – Marla Alforque
Taguig City – Lovely Lamptey
Las Piñas City – Zahra Bianca Saldua
The Top 5 were asked a common question by host Robi Domingo: “The deterioration of Boracay left our President with no choice but to close the island for six months for rehabilitation. What should be done to make sure that what happens to Boracay doesn’t happen to our other tourist destinations?”
There was not a reply of the (current Miss Earth) Karen Ibasco caliber but Cortesi’s cool, calm and collected reply won her the title: “I agree with the decision of President Duterte. And I think that Boracay needs a drainage system because the 'juice' of trash goes directly on the ocean. We have to control the capacity of hotels.”
The advocacies
A homegrown pageant, Miss Earth separated itself early on from other beauty competitions for its advocacy of protecting our planet at a time when it was not “fashionable” to do so.
Thus, for this year’s competition as it was in years before, the contestants were asked: “What is your environmental advocacy and why did you choose this?”
Here are the top answers taken from the contestants' profiles from the pageant's website:
Miss Titay, Zamboanga Sibugay:
“Eradicating plastic wastes in the ocean. I chose this advocacy because garbage floating in the ocean slowly by slowly destroys our marine resources and considering that the Philippines is an archipelago and majority of our people live in coastal areas where fishing is their main source of living. We should protect and preserve the beauty of our bodies of water.”
Miss Fil-Rome:
“My advocacy is about trees in Italy because I believe we should protect our urban fragile forest ,because trees are life. And the perfect example is here in italy, for the existence of a law that protects monumental trees.”
Miss Balingasag, Misamis Oriental:
“My environmental advocacy is to educate people, especially in coastal areas to become ‘bantay dagat,’ or sea guardians, for them to help enforce marine protection policies.
Miss San Rafael, Bulacan:
“My environmental advocacy is to bring awareness regarding recycling and reducing waste. I want to bring international standards to the Philippines when it comes to reprocessing recycled materials. I choose this because I have been living in the Philippines for four months now and I noticed plastic bottles being thrown on the garbage, no recycling bins or depots. It is seldom that I see proper waste disposal here and I want to help take part in making new processes here in the Philippines.”
Miss Las Piñas City:
My environmental advocacy focuses on water and mainly eco-preneurship. First, the conservation and sanitation of water. Only about 10% of the nation’s sewage is treated or disposed of in an environmentally sound manner. The rest goes back to nature- usually the sea. Water is our only resource that we cannot replace and has been turning into a monetary and political concern as the human populace battles for this need. Second, eco-preneurship encourages people to think of solutions that will benefit both them and the environment. It allows us to practice our capabilities of being an entrepreneur and it will empower us to create solutions for our Mother Earth.”
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