The 2025 Miss Asia Pacific International pageant staged a scaled-down production of its preliminary competition following the magnitude 6.9 earthquake that shook the island last Sept. 30.
The preliminary competition was held at a portion of the Lapu-Lapu Ballroom of Bai Hotel Cebu in Mandaue City on Monday morning, Oct. 6, with the event going on a by-invitation only to limit guests.
Originally set as a public affair on Oct. 3 at the JPark Island Resort and Water Park in Lapu-Lapu City, the planned preliminary event was canceled because of the tremor, which also jolted the pageant’s Benefit Gala Night.
The earthquake, with its epicenter traced in Bogo City, left a trail of destruction to property and infrastructure, and claimed the lives of dozens, with northern Cebu the hardest hit. Organizers of the international pageant decided to realign the delegates’ activities to foster solidarity with those affected by the earthquake, and canceled the preliminary competition show and other events.
For four straight days since Oct. 1, the ladies took part in relief missions, including the packing of goods at the Cebu Province Warehouse and at their hotel residence.
On Oct. 3, the ladies got to see the earthquake’s effects up close when they distributed goods to the towns of Daanbantayan, Medellin, and San Remigio in the northern part of the island.
Miss Asia Pacific International Executive Director Jacqueline Tan-Sainz told Inquirer Entertainment that the pageant decided in the last minute to still hold a preliminary competition show, for the sake of the delegates who had prepared for it, and expressed their desire to showcase what they can offer. The delegates were said to be looking forward to a preliminary competition show and had prepared gowns for it, different from the ones that they would use for the finals.
In the simplified staging of one of the most crucial phases of the annual pageant, the ladies paraded in swimsuits by Filipino designer Sonny Boy Mindo, albeit on a much smaller stage than the one they walked on at the Benefit Gala Night.
Among the judges were Belgian beauty Selena Ali, second runner-up in last year’s competition, designers Daniel Manila and Phillip Tampus, life coach Carelle Herrera, and Zanea Strategy Manager Hannah Casaño.
At the end of the preliminary competition, the best-performing ladies were recognized. Adjudged Best in Swimsuit was Anita Rose Gomez of the Philippines, while Brazil’s Isabela Fernandes was proclaimed Best in Evening Gown. The two ladies scored two accolades each during the event. Gomez landed second in the gown contest, while Fernandes was second in the swimsuit segment.
Filipino-American bet Kayla Jane Usison from the United States finished third in the evening gown round, while Belgium’s Jana Janssens, who sustained an injury during the gala night quake, was third in the swimsuit contest.
The preliminary competition is an important event for the pageant because part of the scores that will determine the semifinalists will come from it. The closed-door interview scheduled in the afternoon will also contribute to the ladies’ fate.
The 2025 Miss Asia Pacific International coronation night will be held at the Cebu Coliseum on Oct. 8. Forty-three ladies are competing for the title.