Miss Cebu 2023 Up Close: Charlene Canoy

In just a few days, we will witness the crowning of Miss Cebu 2023.

Miss Cebu is one of the highlights of the annual Sinulog Festival. The pageant began in 1983 and aims to “showcase the total beauty with the holistic personality of the Cebuana.”

This platform has been utilized to promote Cebu City’s tourism.

The Tourism Commission also emphasized the role of Miss Cebu as an inspiration and role model to young individuals and to the Cebuanos.

CDN Digital had a chance to speak with our 12 lovely candidates backstage and got to know them better personally. Here are some up close Q&A with Candidate No. 10 Charlene “Cha” Canoy, 21, from Toledo City, Cebu.

**This article is part of a series featuring all the candidates for Miss Cebu 2023.*

Candidate No. 10 Charlene “Cha” Canoy, 21, from Toledo City, Cebu. | Photo by: Dan Douglas Ong

Q: What makes you unique?

Charlene: What makes me unique is my attitude towards life. In everything that I do and in every situation I’ve encountered, I have always tried to deal with it with [a] positive attitude. My attitude is not inherited nor something that just happened to me suddenly. It is a matter of choice and self-control. If you can’t change a situation, change the way you respond.

Q: What is your favorite place in Cebu and why?

Charlene: As someone who is studying in Cebu Technological University – Main Campus, Colon Street is just like a backyard to me. It is just a few steps away and in every school day, I get to walk in this busy street. Eventually, I felt comfortable. I have developed love and amazement towards the beauty of street noises, street markets, city lights, and busy people. If we try to think about it, Colon Street is not only a historical street and the oldest national road in the Philippines, but it also represents the hard work and determination of the Cebuanos. The crowd shows how we don’t just lie in our beds all day, but we go out and get busy. That’s why my favorite place in Cebu City is Colon Street.

Q: What is your favorite Cebuano delicacy and why do you love it?

Charlene: My favorite Cebuano delicacy is “puso” or the hanging rice. I am not a type of person who is into fancy restaurants but rather more into “pungko-pungko“. With that being said, I eat puso almost everyday. It is an icon of Cebuano street food and speaks a lot about the traits of Cebuanos. It shows how creative and practical we are as the rice in puso is protected from flies and human hands in open-air eateries. Puso is portable and [would] lasts for a day, which makes it perfect for picnics and other trips. It also takes a lot of work to make one which speaks volume of how hardworking Cebuanos are.

I am just a simple and ordinary girl, but I dared to dream and worked hard to achieve those dreams.

Q: Which celebrity would you invite for dinner and why?

Charlene: I would love to invite our Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray. She has been my idol in the pageant industry since her Miss World days because of her sincerity and authenticity. She is the perfect example of what a role model and a spokesperson should be. A representation of an empowered woman who speaks not just for herself but for others, and not just speaks, but also do the actions needed. It would be a dream come true seeing her and asking tips in person for someone like me who is vying to become an ambassadress of Cebu City.

Q: Why do you deserve to win Miss Cebu 2023?

Charlene: I should be your Miss Cebu 2023 as I am not only representing myself but I am representing a lot of Cebuanas. I am just a simple and ordinary girl, but I dared to dream and worked hard to achieve those dreams. Aside from that, I am also an aspiring mechanical engineer and passionate about sustainable development, most especially renewable energy. I am confident that I can be an asset of Cebu City, as a spokesperson, in realizing sustainable programs and achieving a Singapore-like Cebu City.

Stay updated with Miss Cebu 2023 events and activities here.

Miss Cebu is the official search for Cebu City’s Ambassadress of Goodwill and spokesperson. Its coronation night is set on January 11, 2023, as one of the highlights of next year’s Sinulog festival.