Michelle Arceo, Anita Rose Gomez screen for Miss Grand Philippines 2025
Reigning Miss Grand Philippines CJ Opiaza (center) and her aspiring successors Anita Rose Gomez (left) and Michelle Arceo/ARMIN P. ADINA
Two of the anticipated applicants for the 2025 Miss Grand Philippines pageant showed up to screen–returning candidate Michelle Arceo and crossover beauty Anita Rose Gomez.
The national pageant’s applicants were invited to the final screening and selection of official candidates at the Glass Ballroom of Okada Manila on Saturday afternoon, May 24.
Arceo received the Reina Hispanoamericana Filipinas title when ALV Pageant Circle launched its first staging of the Miss Grand Philippines pageant in 2023.
She eventually finished fourth in the 2024 Reina Hispanoamericana pageant in Bolivia, and was proclaimed segunda finalista (second runner-up).
Gomez, famous for her 19-inch waistline, was a fan favorite during the 2024 Miss Universe Philippines pageant. She finished in the Top 10.
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Also crossing over from the Miss Universe Philippines pageant was Angeleyh Caballero Pasco, who was fielded by the Filipino community in Hawaii to the national pageant held last May. She represented Davao and finished in the Top 24.
Pangasinan’s Nikki Buenafe, who was crowned Miss Multinational Philippines in the ALV sister pageant Miss World Philippines last year, also joined the screening. She has not competed in the international contest yet, and may have given up her national title to try her luck at the Miss Grand Philippines pageant.
Reigning Miss Grand Philippines Christine Juliane Opiaza is herself a crossover beauty. She was first runner-up in the 2022 Miss Universe Philippines pageant, and took part in the 2022 Bb. Pilipinas pageant.
The successful applicants were announced at the end of the final screening, and they included Arceo, Gomez, Pasco, and Buenafe.
The lucky ones who passed the final screening will be joined by the official entrants from provincial franchisees, who will be presented later on.
There will be enormous pressure on the eventual 2025 Miss Grand Philippines winner, as she will bear the responsibility of exceeding Opiaza’s first runner-up finish in last year’s international competition.
No Filipino woman has ever posted a victory in the Miss Grand International pageant. Two more Filipino women finished second aside from Opiaza, Nicole Cordoves in 2016, and Samantha Bernardo in 2020.
