THE five lovely ladies who will be representing Mindanao in the national stage of Miss Teen Philippines 2020 were finally named as the regional search concluded on Sunday night, November 24, at the event center of SM CDO Downtown Premier.
Loud cheers from families, friends and supporting fans echoed throughout the venue as Sophia Stave, Eryn Michelle Tapungot, Elaisa Taala, Rio Patricia Legazpi and Maita Marie Parrel were crowned as the top five Miss Teen Philippines 2020 Mindanao.
Apart from being crowned, Stave received special awards such as Miss Photogenic, Miss Premea and Miss Kotex. Parrel also got the special award The Face of Le Rouge.
Other candidates who won special awards were: Gwyn Chan as Teen Influencer, Mema Tempra as Best in Formal Wear, Sol Sumalhay as League Magazine Choice awardee, and Sam Callao as Best in Casual Wear.
Prior to the announcement of winners, Miss Teen Philippines 2019 Nikki de Moura took the opportunity to express her gratitude to the people behind the pageant.
"Miss Teen Philippines has made me become a better person. I have learned how to be independent, to be brave and to be compassionate. Yet most of all, I have learned how to raise my voice and stand up for the things that I fight for," De Moura said.
Stave, Taala, Tapungot, Legazpi and Parrel will be representing Mindanao as they compete for the chance to be a youth ambassador and be crowned as the Miss Teen Philippines 2020, with the coronation night set in May in Manila.
Asked for his opinion on this year's candidates from Mindanao, Ferdinand Yu, founder of Miss Teen Philippines, said he has always seen the young teenagers from Northern Mindanao as good, strong and improving.
"I will always wish them the best of luck when they get to the nationals but at this point, I just wish they can be very good role models to their peers and we always believe that you can always be significant in your own little way. So small things muna because ang babata pa naman nila but they start there. Big things will come for them," Yu said.
Miss Teen Philippines, founded in 2004, is the country's first-ever original pageant in the search for the beautiful, talented and articulate Filipina teen who can be a role model for the youth, providing inspiration to members of her generation in valuing education and see it as an enabler to get ahead in life and be globally ready in a field of expertise they choose, as its primary goal is to promote global readiness through education.