The reigning Mutya ng Pilipinas winners
MUTYA ng Pilipinas-Asia Pacific International 2017 Ilene Astrid De Vera will be coming home to the Queen City of the South for the regional search of Mutya ng Pilipinas 2018 candidates.
De Vera confirmed in an interview with Cebu Daily News that the screening will be held on June 2 at the 38 Park Avenue Showroom, IT Park, Cerbu City.
The Cebuana beauty queen said that she would love if another Cebuana will win the title this year.
“But I think the competition will be tougher because we will be choosing 50 candidates from all over the country. What I am hoping to happen instead is to crown a girl who is mature enough to know the responsibilities of being a Mutya and for her to execute the tasks wholeheartedly after being crowned,” she told CDN.
De Vera will be accompanied by Hemilyn Escudero-Tamayo and Fred Yuson from the Mutya ng Pilipinas Organization during the regional search.
After Cebu City, a separate regional search will also be held in Davao City on June 3.
According to its website, Mutya ng Pilipinas promotes “beauty tourism” in Asia and West Pacific.
This pageant also allows representatives from different Overseas Filipino communities to join the pageant like Northern and Southern California, Nevada, Arizona, Midwest, the East Coast, Hawaii, Canada, Australia, Germany, United Kingdom, and Scandinavia.
Coveted titles in Mutya ng Pilipinas are Miss Asia Pacific International, Miss Tourism International, and Top Model of the World.
Cebu has already produced winners in Mutya ng Pilipinas including Miss Tourism International 2012 Rizzini Alexis Gomez, Miss Tourism International 2013 Angeli Dione Gomez, and Mutya ng Pilipinas-Asia Pacific International 2014 Eva Psychee Patalinjug.
A Mass Communication graduate from University of the Philipines Cebu, De Vera represented Cebu City last year and was proclaimed as Mutya ng Pilipinas-Asia Pacific International 2017.
De Vera wore the sash of the Philippines in Miss Asia Pacific International 2017 held in Manila and finished second runner-up.
Other Mutya ng Pilipinas 2017 winners are Jannie Loudette Alipo-on of Navotas (Mutya ng Pilipinas-Tourism International), Hannah Khayle Iglesia of Isabela (Mutya ng Pilipinas-Top Model of the World), and Savannah Mari Gankiewicz of Hawaii (Mutya ng Pilipinas-Overseas Filipino Communities).