The lovely women competing in this year's Miss Universe Philippines are breaking barriers in the pageant world. For the first time, the competition includes a welder and a plumber among the glamorous contestants. They're out to prove that you can look sultry in an evening gown while wearing a hard hat or fixing leaky pipes during the day.

Miss Naic Mary Rose Guiral, 23, confessed that she took up welding due to her financial circumstances and early orphanage.  

"From six to 14 years old, I lived in a different family every year so that I could sustain my education. At the age of 14, that's when I got into an orphanage—the Valley Cathedral Children's Home in Naic, Cavite. Back then, we were only two offered two courses: welding and computer technology. Unfortunately, I didn't have any interest in computers, so I chose welding," she narrated.

Mary Rose went on to graduate from high school with honors. She eventually took up mechanical engineering as a scholar at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines in Cavite. She recalls now: "All my hardships and experiences in life became my training ground. It molded and trained me into the woman I am today."

She plans to give back to society by advocating for "poverty eradication through agricultural innovation and education. I am trying to help build and design machines to help our agricultural sector."

Meanwhile, dusky Miss Toledo City Kim Irish Placibe recalled being the only girl in her batch when she took up plumbing in senior high school. She is currently pursuing a physical education degree in college but would like to pursue a master plumber certification when the opportunity arises.

Kim admitted that she experienced "gender stereotyping" when she studied plumbing. 

"People asked me why I took it up,  that it is not fit for a woman in our classroom. I ended up doing demonstrations last because I was the only girl. But according to our assessor, the quality of my work was good for a girl," she remarked.

"Being a plumber is not easy at all," Kim added. "You need a man's strength to do things, like fix the sink. As a woman, I had to exert extra effort, but I also showed them I could do it."

Mary Rose and Kim advise young women to "follow your passion. Don’t let anyone tell you what you can or can’t do because of your gender." They also hope that their example will inspire girls to enter and excel in traditionally "male-dominated" fields.

The two queens were interviewed during the MUPH X Villa Medica contract signing at the Grand Ballroom of Hilton Manila. In attendance were Jonas Gaffud, CEO of Empire Philippines; Voltaire Tayag, MUPH director of communications; Crystal Jacinto, CEO and president of Villa Medica Philippines; COO Juan Paolo Lumabao; and medical director Jose Paolo Santos.

Villa Medica officials vowed to care for the candidates' holistic health, including diet, stress management, and "keeping their inner glow" in the runup to the much-awaited MUPH 2024 Grand Coronation Night, scheduled at the SM Mall of Asia Arena on May 22.