PAGEANT Circle

Miss Planet Philippines Maria Luisa Varela was crowned Miss Planet International 2023 on Sunday, January 29 at Koh Pich Theater in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The 26-year-old entrepreneur who also bagged the Social Media award became the first Filipina representative to win the international pageant. She succeeded the first winner from 2019, Monique Best of South Africa. Jemima Ruth Mandemwa of Zimbabwe and Ono Aya of Japan were named the first and second runners-up respectively. Rounding out the Top 7 were Tiffany Ha of Vietnam, Katarina Juselius of Finland, Alina Safronova of Latvia, and Srey Leak Pok of Cambodia. Miss Planet International was founded in Cambodia and according to its official website, the pageant's advocacy focuses on environmental protection, multiculturalism, poverty, ethical economic progress, clean renewable energy, world peace, and education. This year's edition was supposed to be held last November in Uganda but due to some controversial incidents with the ho

Binibining Pilipinas 2022 first runner-up Herlene Nicole Budol, also known as "hipon girl" has been officially announced as the representative of the Philippines at Miss Planet International 2022. The 23-year-old TV personality from Angono, Rizal will travel to Kampala, Uganda, the Pearl of Africa, to compete for the international title this November. Herlene's manager, entrepreneur Wilbert Tolentino was also revealed as the new Miss Planet International national director for the Philippines. Aside from her first runner-up finish in her first-ever national pageant, the new Miss Planet Philippines also bagged seven special awards, making her the record holder for having the most number of awards at Binibining Pilipinas. She took home the Miss Blackwater, Manila Bulletin Readers' Choice, Binibining Shein, Binibining Pizza Hut, Binibining Kumu, Jag Queen, Binibining Silka and Binibining World Balance. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Herle