In 2020, a young lady by the name of Rabiya Mateo from Iloilo became the first Miss Universe Philippines under the new organization headed by Shamcey Supsup and Jonas Gaffud. Rabiya’s win was not just a surprise over veteran titleholders and popular candidates, but also a pride for Iloilo, which has not won a national pageant in a long time.

In 2021, Kheshapornam Ramachandran represented Iloilo but was unable to make it to the top. This year, two ladies from Iloilo are out to give it a shot to return the crown back to their province. Vanessa Caro and Dorothy Gemillan are both under the case of Aces and Queens and ready for their time to shine on stage.

Dorothy Gemillan, Iloilo City

Dorothy Gemillan first competed early this year at the Miss Iloilo pageant, where she was crowned as Miss Iloilo Universe by no less than Rabiya Mateo. Pretty with an angelic face, Dorothy is a nursing student who also loves painting. Although often described as an introvert, Dottie can actually be very spunky with the people close to her.

Dottie was the first candidate interviewed by the Qrown Philippines for its Miss Universe Philippines series. Check out the interview below.

Dottie’s challenge is to show more of her personality to people who have yet to get to know her. We are confident behind that soft-spoken persona, she has a lot to show in the next few days of the competition.

Vanessa Caro, Iloilo Province

Vanessa first competed in Miss Iloilo in 2016. After the competition, she left to pursue a Masters’s Degree in New York and finally decided to give the national pageant scene a try.

With her background, some might find it intimidating. She is actually one of the best speakers in the batch and I can personally attest to this when I heard her speak during the informal press presentation in March. She has also done an interview with pageant blogger Adam Genato, wherein she showed why she is a silent killer in the competition.

Although eloquent and a good speaker, Vanessa has to warm up to people a bit more. Her tourism video has given us a glimpse of her personality and we would like to see more from her. She also has to make sure that when she speaks, it doesn’t sound monotonous which can be boring for the audience.

Quiet but deadly in the competition

Dottie and Vanessa have a big task ahead of them to showcase the Ilongga pride in Miss Universe Philippines. As the days go by, pageant fans have been putting them in their favorites to be the potential winner. They maybe quiet for now but we’re sure they’ll bring out the guns in the most important parts of the competition very soon.