TACLOBAN CITY – Thursday evening, May 4, saw 38 Miss Universe Philippines contestants displaying their national costumes at the HRDC Theatre in Leyte Normal University, Tacloban City. For the first time, the pageant embraced the theme of celebrating Philippine agriculture.
Each candidate wore a costume representing the agricultural heritage and products from their regions, garnering enthusiastic responses from the live audience. Notably, the Batangas representative wore a costume featuring Eastern Visayas' famed banig made from tikog grass.
Locals from Eastern Visayas showed immense support for candidates from their region, such as the Southern Leyte representative whose outfit was designed by local brothers Nick and Daniel Guarino. Another eye-catching costume was worn by the Northern Samar candidate, inspired by the legendary goddess Berbenota, protector of the island of Biri with its stunning rock formations.
Eastern Samar's Airissh Ramos received the most applause as she gracefully danced in her costume crafted from Region 8's iconic banig tikog. The attire symbolized the harmony of Eastern Samar's rice fields, mountains, and waters. Ramos winning the Best in National Costume award brought immense pride to her supporters, especially since her outfit was locally made.
"I was so surprised that I won the Best in National Costume, but overall, I just enjoyed the whole show and put on a great performance for the people who made my national costume. It's John Hubert, also a Waraynon, and it was hand-sewn by high school students from Oras, Eastern Samar," Ramos shared.
Joemay Leo from Benguet and Kimberly Escartin from Southern Leyte secured second and third places for Best in National Costume, respectively. Each winner was awarded P50,000.
In addition to Best in National Costume, Ramos also claimed the Tingog ng Filipina title for Visayas. Candidates from Baguio and Agusan del Norte received the same accolade for Luzon and Mindanao, respectively, with each winner receiving an additional P100,000. —iTacloban