Cagayan de Oro starts Miss Universe Philippines 2024 search
MANILA, Philippines — Aiming to be the gold standard in regional pageantry, the “City of Golden Friendship” is going all out in the search for its representative to the Miss Universe Philippines 2024 competition — a woman who possesses her own unique charm, intelligence and beauty.
Following the Miss Universe Philippines (MUPH) organization’s newly implemented “Accredited Partnerships Program,” the one chosen to lead the search for the next captivating Cagay-anon is retail-estate maven, Rejellaine Sarip Vidad.
“Miss Universe Philippines is taking a big step in embracing the beauty and talent of every Filipina with a dream across the whole country! Welcome aboard, Ms. Rejellaine S. Vidad, our newest Accredited Partner for Cagayan de Oro City,” declared MUPH national director Shamcey Supsup-Lee.
There’s palpable excitement that the city is going to produce another queen with universal appeal such as hometown beauties Maria Isabel Lopez (our rep to Miss Universe 1982), Elizabeth Berroya (sent to Miss Universe 1992) and Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach, Miss Universe 2015.
Phenomenal women
Carefully vetted and highly credible, Vidad is granted the authority to select the city’s representative to the national competition. To seal her role, a contract signing was recently held at the La Creperie Pie in White Plains, Quezon City, attended by Supsup-Lee, MUPH creative director Jonas A. Gaffud, Creative Partnership Team Inc. president Lloyd Lee, National Search consultant Magdalena Cue and assistant director of the AP Program Arnold Mercado.
“The Miss Universe organization’s evolution goes beyond beauty, now focusing on empowering women to create change. I'm excited and honored to take on the role of scouting in my region, using the Miss Universe platform to spotlight women who are making a meaningful impact,” an elated Vidad stated.
A devoted wife and mother, Vidad is the CEO and founder of PhilHomes Development Corp., which is a major player in the region’s real-estate industry. She has received the prestigious title of Sale Superstar of the Year from the Asia Pacific Excellence Citations, and was honored as the Most Trusted Empowered Business Woman of The Year and Most Trusted Realty Company of The Year by the Trusted Business Awards Council.
Incidentally, National Search consultant Magdalena Cue is also a homegrown entrepreneur. She owns her namesake Mags boutiques, a nationwide chain of stores selling chic women’s clothing whose image models include Cristine Reyes, Angel Aquino, Sofia Andres, Alice Dixson and Isabela “Lala” Vinzon.
Cue has provided outfits for Mutya ng Pilipinas, Miss Asia Pacific International, Miss Intercontinental, Miss Teen Philippines Northern Mindanao, Miss Cagayan de Oro, Mutya ng Batangas, Mutya ng Kapampangan and Miss Quezon Province. She is also the mother of Andre John Cue, a semi-finalist at the Caballero Universal pageant in Venezuela in 2022.
Pivotal Role
The screening will be held on October 21, 2023, 1 p.m. at F & F, 2nd Floor, East Concourse, Limketkai Center. Aspirants are given at least a month head-start so they can best prepare their physiques, mindsets and battle plans. They will be evaluated based on beauty, confidence, grace, communication skills and personality.
Also pivotal in a successful search is the pageant director. Vidad and Cue were both excited to work with Dennis N. Almazan, founder of the DNA Modeling and Events agency and best known for directing the biggest pageants in Northern Mindanao.
The MUPH CDO team, with Almazan at the helm, sent out invitations to the city’s pageant mentors, hair and makeup artist and pageant camps to field their candidates, provided they meet the following qualifications: Must be a resident of Cagayan de Oro; must be a Filipino citizen; female, regardless of civil status; no height requirement and must be 18 and above.
The beauty camps given invitations are Charms & Queens, The House, The Questers Camp, Team Amega, Glitterati, Models Association of CDO (MACDO), Models and Queens Management, USTP Elite Models, The Model House and Adalia Models.
Should MUPH CDO eventually become a battle of previous title holders, the MACDO agency owned by Zoe Botwin has an impressive roster: Berjayneth Chee (Miss Earth Water 2018 and Miss Chinatown 2022), Caroline Veronilla (Miss Universe Philippines 2020 candidate), Chella Falconer (Miss Universe 2021 Top 10), Dannah Joy Tempra (Miss World 2021 semifinalist) and Jimema Tempra (Miss Earth Philippines Air 2022).
Also honed by Botwin are Kirk Popiolek (Miss Brilliant Queen, Tondo Fairy Queen and Miss Gay International 2023), Alan Roy Sambaan II (Mister International Philippines 2022 top 25 finalist), JP Ocat (Misters of Filipinas 2017and Man of the World 2018 finalist), Nikki De Moura (Miss Teen Philippines 2018, Super Model Me Season 2 1st runner-up and Miss Grand Philippines 2023) and Cindy Obenita (Miss Intercontinental 2021).
“The Miss Universe Philippines Cagayan de Oro pageant is not just a celebration of beauty; it is a transformative journey of self-discovery and personal growth," noted pageant director Almazan, “as well as a unique opportunity to represent the vibrant city of Cagayan de Oro on the national stage.”
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