Yllana Aduana: From Miss Earth-Air to Miss Universe PH stage

THIS  is regarding the news article “Yllana Aduana throws hat in Miss Universe Philippines 2025 pageant” (Inquirer Entertainment, 2/3/25). As a pageant fan, I am ecstatically happy.

Prior to the announcement, I had been hoping that Yllana would join Miss Universe Philippines after her remarkable performance at Miss Earth 2023, where she clinched the Miss Earth-Air crown. Now, finally, she has been officially appointed by the Miss Universe Philippines-Laguna organization as the representative of the town of Siniloan for the 2025 Miss Universe Philippines pageant.

I am excited about the unique qualities Yllana will bring to the table, knowing how passionate she is about the environmental movements she supports. In fact, she started living sustainably in high school and has continued this lifestyle ever since. As an advocacy-driven woman, Yllana ardently champions E.A.R.T.H. education, which stands for Environmental Awareness and Action to Restore and Transcend Home. She strengthened this commitment when she joined Miss Philippines Earth for the second time. Over the course of several months, she had traveled throughout the 17 regions of our country, imparting insights to people across all sectors about the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their connection to nature.

Furthermore, as a national titleholder, Yllana was given the opportunity to speak before delegates at the Fourth Global Conference on Strengthening Synergies on the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda of the United Nations at their headquarters in New York. There, she went viral on social media for the eloquence with which—and the sense of equanimity with—she delivered her speech.

In that speech, Yllana recounted her experiences before becoming a beauty queen, which involved extensive travel and participation in colloquiums. She admitted to observing a lack of awareness among Filipinos regarding the SDGs. Yet, she has made a commendable effort to address this gap by creating pamphlets that summarize the 17 SDGs.

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Now, more than ever, I hope that Yllana’s consequential actions will inspire those around her with a sense of purpose and that the stars will align for her as she steps onto the Miss Universe Philippines stage.

JHON STEVEN C. ESPENIDO,
Surigao City