A lot of people were surprised (pleasantly!) when word got around that Kisses Delavin has decided to join the 2021 Miss Universe Philippines (MUPh) search.  As a teenager, Kisses first got her crack to becoming a public figure when she entered the Pinoy Big Brother house as a teen housemate and ended up a runner-up in her batch.  From there, she has gone the standard formula of the loveteam route, being paired with fellow teen celebs Marco Gallo, Yong Mujahil and Donnie Pangilinan.  Before the pandemic struck, Kisses was last seen jumping over the fence to the Kapuso network, starting to look every inch a beautiful young woman.  Early this year, Kisses started making waves again when she announced that she will be wearing Masbate’s sash in the MUPh, setting aside her showbiz career in the meantime, to pursue her beauty queen dreams (something that she has always been aiming for even before she joined PBB!).

Even before Kisses’ foray into the world of pageantry, other established celebrities have already tried their luck to win national beauty titles.  Among them were Megan Young, who eventually won for the country its first Miss World crown in 2013; Ruffa Gutierrez, who emerged as Second Princess in the 1993 edition of the same pageant; Mutya Crisostomo Laxa, who after failing to snatch a crown in Binibining Pilipinas went on to win as Mutya ng Pilipinas-Asia;  and Joanne Quintas Santos, who won the plum title of Binibining Pilipinas Universe in 1995.  Other beautiful stars who were once coaxed to throw their hats in the pageant ring but later decided not to let go of their slots in showbusiness include Janine Gutierrez, Sunshine Cruz, Juliana Palermo, Cindy Kurleto, Maricel Laxa and even Princess Punzalan.

As her adoring supporters now await for Kisses’ eventual fate in MUPh, many showbiz fans are wondering which other stars could possibly follow in her footsteps and vie for the chance to represent the country in the world stage of pageantry.  Respected and veteran pageant mentor Rodgil Flores of the Kagandahang Flores camp recently shared with Thrillmaker who he thinks are the stars who can wear national crowns should they decide to give it a shot.  He also recommended specific pageants for them based on the prototype that each pageant looks for in their winners.

MAINE MENDOZA – The Dubsmash Queen is best suited for Miss Philippines Earth.  Flores reasons: “Isa siyang effective communicator, malakas ang personalidad at may malawak na social media following.” (She is an effective communicator, has a strong personality, and has a wide social media following.)  Maine can actually use these strengths to be an advocate for the environment and will certainly be able to put to fore all issues that need to be talked about regarding Mother Earth. 

KATHRYN BERNARDO – “Kathryn can be crowned as Mutya ng Pilipinas.  Mahilig ang Mutya sa mga gandang pang-artista,” Flores said.  The pageant trainer also sees former Mutya winners in Kathryn: “Naalala ko kay Kathryn ang mga magagandang Mutya winners dati na nagiging artista agad pagkatapos ng kanilang reign, gaya ni Baby Delgado. “ 

LIZA SOBERANO – Facially stunning Liza can join and potentially win in all the major pageants in the country like Miss Universe Philippines, Miss World Philippines, Binibining Pilipinas.  The “almost” Darna star is seen as a perfect fit for pageantry.  “She obviously has both the beauty and the communication skills.  We just really need to polish her pageant presentation skills,” Flores said. “Pero siguro for Liza, pinakabagay talaga siya sa Miss Universe Philippines with Miss World Philippines as her fallback,” he added.

NADINE LUSTRE – “She is multi-faceted.  Bagay siya sa Miss World Philippines.  She is musical so she can do well sa talent fast track; she is sporty and can do well sa sports fast track.  Of course, given na rin na fashionable sya.  Her beauty is Pinay na Pinay.  She can be likened to Mafae Yunon who made it to the top 5 of Miss World in 1993,” were the comments given by the pageant mentor on Daniel Padilla’s love interest. 

SANYA LOPEZ – “Bagay na bagay si Sanya sa Binibining Pilipinas,” stressed the KF Camp’s founder.   “She can be a top contender for any of the crowns there.  Pero pinaka-bagay sa kanya yung Miss Grand International crown.  She can be packaged in the same mold as Samantha Bernardo,” he said in assessing Lopez’ beauty pageant chances.

MAYMAY ENTRATA – While pageantry doesn’t seem to be Flores’ recommendation for Maymay, he sees a winner in her in another kind of glamour search: “Seriously, pwede niyang subukang sumali sa Asia’s Next Top Model. I can see her doing really well sa competition na yun.”