Bb. Pilipinas 2018 candidates prove there's more to them than beauty

The new batch of Binibining Pilipinas candidates are ready to show off...their brains and passion for social development.

The lovely ladies are armed not just with great smiles and toned figures, but solid advocacies ranging from maternal and child health, to rural education, to inclusive sports programs.

Candidate no. 23, Ena Velasco, a medical doctor, said that mothers and their children living in far-flung communities also deserve accessible health care.

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"My advocacy is to promote maternal and child health awareness and accessibility in far-flung areas in our country. I chose that basing on my experience in the hospital. I was able to witness in the hospital...those patients I was able to interact with, they came from far flung areas, they lack the facilities and the services which I believe they deserve. Kagaya ng prenatal check ups, mga ganon," she said, during a sponsor visit to Pizza Hut in Ali Mall, Cubao.

Candidate no. 30, Sarah Margarette Joson said that she wants to promote and support the tourism industry in the Philippines, while Candidate no. 29, Samantha Avestruz, wants to preserve culture and arts, which she thinks is being taken for granted.

Candidate no. 19 Michele Gumabao, a professional volleyball player, said that she wants to bring sustainable sports programs to the provinces.

"In volleyball my advocacy was sharing the sport that I love. Being in Binibining Pilipinas my advocacy is sustainable sports programs for the provinces. Sa Manila lang talaga ang marmi tayong camps, so I want it to be in the provinces, and I want it to be sustainable," she said.

She said that she has already started working on this advocacy in the past few years, but joining the beauty pageant will allow her a bigger platform.

"I want to go around the Philippines. I've been doing it for the past few years but I want a bigger scale, I want more people involved," she said.

Their passions may be different, but each candidate are equally determined to make a positive change in the world.

Candidate no. 38 Karen Gallman, an analyst, said that this was a great development in beauty pageants, because a few years back when she first joined, it wasn't a point of highlight.

Karen was one of the Top 12 finalists in the 2012 Binibining Pilipinas.

"It's amazing to see that everyone has an advocacy that they care about and is personal to them, whereas a few years back it wasn't very highlighted. It's wonderful that ...we can use this platform to bring awareness to our advocacies," she said.

Her personal advocacy is to improve education for primary and secondary school in rural areas in the Philippines.

She said her experiences in grades school growing up in Bohol made her realize that there is a lack of resources.

"I was born and raised in Bohol and experienced attending primary school there. I realize there's a huge lack of teaching materials and quality in primary and secondary education," she said.

"When I was growing up in Bohol, we would walk for 30 minutes to an hour just to go to school. May siesta pa yun, so you have to go back and forth." she added. — LA, GMA News