Four Cebuanas vie for Miss Philippines Earth 2014

CEBU, Philippines - After the Binibining Pilipinas fever, next up on our pageant watch is the Miss Philippines Earth (MPE) finals happening next month. And just like last year, four lovely lasses will represent the province of Cebu. They will be up against 45 other candidates selected from all over the country and Filipino communities abroad.

First on the list is 19-year-old Jamie Herrell (representing Cebu City), who’s already racked up a list of pageant titles in the local scene. She’s previously won Sinulog Festival Queen 2013, Aliwan Festival Queen 2013, Mega Cebu Ambassadress 2013 and Miss Lapu-Lapu 2012 first runner-up.

This Fil-Am took up Mass Communications at the University of San Jose-Recoletos. A skilled dancer, Herrell’s family runs a dance company based in Lapu-Lapu City. In the official Miss Philippines Earth website, the five-foot-seven Herrell states that her advocacy is anti-animal cruelty, because she has “seen how some people treat animals in a wrong way and I believe animals should be treated with love or at least in a proper manner.”

Crystal Star Aberasturi, 21, will represent her hometown of Liloan, Cebu. A registered medical technologist who earned her degree from Cebu Doctor’s University, Aberasturi had also done the rounds of local pageants, her last being Miss Cebu 2014 where she placed fourth runner-up.

“My advocacy will be about waste segregation, information dissemination to recycle, reuse and help to have a greener future, because as what I have observed, waste is one of the greatest challenges that our country is facing,” said Aberasturi’s pageant profile.

The town of Dalaguete has a 22-year-old aspiring newscaster for its bet. Pircelyn Pialago said she wants to “contribute to the cause of saving the environment by promoting green technology. This is technology that gives off less pollution and consumes less energy. This includes alternative fuel cars and L.E.D. lights. I believe green technology is important because you don’t need to change much in your lifestyle so you can be environmentally friendly. But I believe few people are aware of this kind of technology. So I want to use my journalistic skills to help inform people about it.”

One tip she shared to promote eco-tourism in her municipality is to provide environment-friendly local transport, such as e-tricycles. “Since e-tricycles do not give off so much pollution, they are safer for the environment when bringing people around town. There is no smoke that can harm local plant and animal life, or even people with respiratory diseases. I want to support giving environment-friendly tools to local tourism businesses, which would also help the locals in their livelihood,” she explained.

Lastly, there’s Hannah Marie Caayon (Mandaue City), a 25-year-old junior support analyst. Caayon said she wants to make a mark in the world of investment banking, and someday build her own foundation which will send kids to school.

She hopes to promote and support the “integration of the concept of the ‘Green Economy’ through developing a sustainability framework for the public and private partnership projects in the Philippines.”

Among the other MPE 2014 finalists, two names of national pageant veterans stand out: Ma. Paula Bianca Paz (Gapan City) and Mary Ann Ross Misa (Makati City). Paz was Miss World Philippines 2013 Third Princess, the same placement she had when she joined the same pageant in 2011. She joined Binibining Pilipinas in 2011, but was disqualified over a sexy calendar shoot. Misa, on the other hand, was a Binibining  Pilipinas 2010 candidate and Miss World Philippines 2012 First Princess.

Last year’s winner, Angelee Claudette delos Reyes of Olongapo City, was herself a pageant veteran.

MPE prides itself in being not just a search of beauty and brains, but also as an organization that relentlessly promotes the preservation of the planet. Aside from participating in local green movements, the winner goes on to represent the Philippines in the international Miss Earth pageant whose winner becomes the ambassadress of earth’s natural resources and the spokesperson of the Miss Earth Foundation, United Nations Environment Program and other environmental organizations like Greenpeace and the World Wildlife Fund.

The MPE 2014 coronation night is scheduled on May 11 at the Mall Of Asia Arena, to be telecast over ABS-CBN.  (FREEMAN)