'From Venus to Catriona': Bb. Pilipinas makes case on why PH became a pageant powerhouse

February 25 ------ Over the past decades, the Philippines has become a powerful force in pageantry, with the country winning crowns in multiple international pageants such as Miss Universe and Miss International.

And partly, we have Binibining Pilipinas (BBP) to thank for that. BBP recently made a case on why the country has become a pageant powerhouse in its latest video, which compiled crowning moments of its most memorable queens. "If you want to know why the Philippines is a pageant powerhouse, look no further. They didn't just follow the trends, they were the trend!" it declared.

The video, which ran for nearly two minutes, showed BBP's "golden era" which started in 2009 with Venus Raj, who was widely dubbed the country's "drought breaker" after ending the Philippines' 10-year non-placement streak in Miss Universe, finishing as fourth runner-up. Raj was followed by a handful of Miss Universe Top 5 placers: Shamcey Supsup, Janine Tugonon, and Ariella Arida.

Also featured in the clip are Miss International titleholders Bea Santiago and Kylie Verzosa, Miss Supranational 2013 Mutya Datul, as well as back-to-back 2021 queens Cindy Obeñita (Miss Intercontinental) and Maureen Montagne (Miss Globe). And that's barely scratching the surface. Among many others, there's also Miss International 2018 first runner-up Ahtisa Manalo, who went on to place third runner-up in Miss Universe 2025; Miss Grand International first runners-up Nicole Cordoves and Samantha Bernardo.

BBP ended the video with two of the Philippines' most popular beauty queens: Miss Universe titleholders Catriona Gray and Pia Wurtzbach, who won in 2018 and 2015, respectively.

Source: news.abs-cbn.com