GODDESSES OF THE EARTH
Prior to winning the title, the entrepeneur host joined previous national pageants where she competed and placed in Miss Earth Philippines 2014 (Top15) and Miss World Philippines 2015 (Top 13)
“I want to be of service to my countrymen and Mother Earth. I want to help strengthen more communities through eco-tourism. I’m a firm believer of the Chinese proverb, ‘Give a man a fish and you will feed him for a day. Teach a man how to fish and you’ll feed him for a lifetime.’”
Her response, when asked why she wants to be Miss Philippines Earth 2019 in one of her interviews, likely gave Janelle Lazo Tee, the waterlily of Pasig City, the crown.
She bested 39 other blossoms of the country to win the pageant during the coronation day held at The Cove, Okada Manila, Wednesday, 10 June.
Tee, winner of the 19th edition of Carousel Productions’ annual beauty pageant, was a co-host of Wowowin on GMA 7 and lifestyle show host in ANC’s Chinoy TV on ABS-CBN.
Prior to winning the title, the entrepeneur host joined previous national pageants where she competed and placed in Miss Earth Philippines 2014 (Top15) and Miss World Philippines 2015 (Top 13).
Her consistent performance before and during the finals made her one of the frontrunners. She was one of the top 10 scorers in the figure and form and intelligence segments during the preliminary competition and was chosen as darling of the crowd in one of the pre-pageant events by the the sponsor. She also cinched the catwalk challenge. Her video was awarded as best eco video and she was named Miss Connext Holdings for being best advocate, as revealed during the finals.
What made her blossom stand out was when she answered the timed final question: “Which do you think is a better strategy to encourage people to be environmentally conscious: give
incentives for good environmental practice or penalize bad eco-habits? Why?”
The Mass Communications graduate from Ateneo de Davao University responded by saying, “I would choose to give incentives because as a productive country, we know that we have a lot of communities that truly need help in terms of livelihood projects, which is what I’ve been doing with ABS-CBN Foundation. That’s why I want to choose incentives because we have to teach them how to fish, rather than just give them fish for the day. If you teach them how to fish, then it will be there for a living. It will be there sustainably in them. Thank you,” she answered.
Passionate lady gets Air
The fire tree representing the fiery passion of her hometown Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental was crowned Miss Phillipines Air 2019.
Fresh graduate Ana Monica Tan who has nurtured a passion for the art of taekwondo since at the age nine, advocates the conservation and management of watersheds and natural resources, intangible goods and sites of residential, agricultural and commercial use. Tan was also best in cultural costume and in talent.
Hopeful lass takes Water
The chrysanthemum representing Tacloban City is this year’s Miss Philippines Water.
Chelsea Fernandez, a 20-year-old Broadcasting graduate at Asian Development Foundation College, is a beautiful lass full of hope, optimism and joy during the entire competsition advocates education.
One of the favorites to win the title, Fernandez was the winner of the long gown, beach wear and face of the night during the pre-pageant rounds, as well as one of the top 10 scorers in all three rounds during the preliminary competition.
Communicator rules Earth
The bougainvillea representing Marikina City was crowned Miss Philippines Fire 2019. Twenty-five-year-old Alexandria Marie Dayrit has a Communication degree from the Ateneo de Manila University and currently works as director of Business Development in Gold’s Gym Philippines. As a trainer and communicator, she advocates responsible consumption and production and wants to use her talents to serve and empower young Filipinos to become Earth warriors.
Eco Tourism warrior
The bamboo flower representing Maasin, Iloilo was named Miss Philippines Eco Tourism 2019.
Karen Nicole Piccio who is an International Studies major at De La Salle University in Manila has three environmental advocacies: Information, Education, Campaign, reforestation and plastic refusal, the exact same reasons why she emerged as the winner of the title.
Since she is an advocacy and partnership officer at PLCPD and coordinator at Child Rights network, she wants to voice out these causes and to partner with different foundations to reach a wider scale for Filipinos.
Early start
The coronation was the first in its pageant history to stage the finals at 4 p.m., to promote conservation and save energy. Instead of using electrical lighting, a ray of sunlight illuminated the cove where the 40 candidates danced and introduced themselves.
The event was hosted by all four Miss Earth titleholders from the Philippines — Karla Henry (2008), Jamie Herell (2014), Angelia Ong (2015) and Karen Ibasco (2017).
The Philippines holds the record for the most number of Miss Earth titles and the first and only country in the world to achieve a back-to-back victory.
From 40, the candidates were trimmed down to 15 based on scores during the preliminary competition.
The top 15 walked in their sampaguita-inspired swimsuits while being judged in figure and form. They were narrowed down to 10 who graced the stage, all wearing white evening gowns to be judged in face and poise, accompanied by an a capella performance of “Bulaklak” by the Philippine Madrigal Singers.
Finally, the top five finalists were revealed and faced the last hurdle by answering the same timed question.
This year’s judging panel was composed of Arnel Papa (International jewelry designer), Michelle Tañada (Founder of Miss Earth Foundation, CMO ActiveAsia), Jeffrey de la Paz (HR manager of Diamond Hotel) Paolo Castro (head of Communications, Connext Holdings), Ricky Reyes (CEO of Gandang Ricky Reyes), Lorraine Schuck (executive VP of Carousel Productions), Harvey Ong, (CEO of Alfa Mart), Margot Chua (CEO of HANA Cosmetics) and Christine Jacobs-Sandejas (TV host/CNN News Anchor).
The coronation was the first in its pageant history to stage the finals at 4 p.m., to promote conservation and save energy.
The Philippines holds the record for the most number of Miss Earth titles and the first and only country in the world to achieve a back-to-back victory.