ITOGON, Benguet – The province will be fielding a veteran of local, regional, national and international beauty pageant to the upcoming Miss Universe Philippines beauty pageant in May to contribute in promoting Benguet in the global beauty pageant stage.
Maiko Wai-tan Ibarde was officially presented to the public as the province’s representative to the upcoming Miss Universe Philippines beauty pageant following an extensive search conducted among local beauties.
Ibarde, a local beauty queen from Pico, La Trinidad, will be the province’s second candidate for the Miss Universe Philippines beauty pageant after Jomie Leo of Tuba who was the province’s very first contestant to the prestigious contest.
Ibarde, a proud Kankanaey who stands 5 feet and 8 inches tall, is set to showcase Benguet’s rich culture and heritage in the national pageant and will carry with her the advocacy on the aggressive promotion of the rights of the farmers and sustainable agriculture.
For several decades, Benguet has been the major producer of semi-temperate crops being sold in the different parts around the country where figures from the agriculture department shows that more than 82 percent of highland vegetables are produced by the more than 300,000 farmers from the vegetable-producing communities in the province.
She pointed out that the Benguet farmers should be proud that they are the major supplier of highland vegetables in the country amidst the emergence of communities in Visayas and Mindanao that also produce similar highland vegetables that compliment the supply coming from the province.
She learned from her participation in previous pageants that sometimes, one must sacrifice certain things in life to be able to achieve their dreams and aspirations.
According to her, she was supposed to give up participating in beauty pageants after landing first runner-up in the Ms. Summit International last year but she received a call from her handler informing her that she will be respecting Benguet in the upcoming Miss Universe Philippines beauty pageant this coming May which she graciously accepted as it will be her chance to represent the province where she comes from.
In 2022, she was chosen as Miss Baguio Tourism that paved the way for her participation in various regional, national and international competitions over the past several years.
The young Benguet lass will be featuring the attire of Benguet in her participation to the prestigious national beauty contest as she is proud to highlight the attire that will surely shine in the pageant for the appreciation of the people who will be viewing the event.
She appealed to the Cordillerans to support her participation in this national beauty contest as it will surely be a tough one, but with the support of the people whom she will represent, she will be motivate and inspired to do her best to bring Benguet to greater heights and have a place in the map of beauty contests nationally and globally.
Ibarde also expressed her gratitude to her handlers and to the organizers of Miss Universe Philippines Benguet for having chosen her as the province’s official representative to the beauty pageant, a step towards achieving her dream of joining the prestigious international pageant that will be held in Bangkok, Thailand on November 21, 2025. By Dexter A. See
