A mysterious new competition has popped up on the social media feeds of pageant fans called Queen of the Islands, which unveiled its 25 candidates last week.
Called Queendidates, the lineup features beauty queens Michelle Dee, MJ Lastimosa, Ahtisa Manalo, Gazini Ganados, Ariella Arida and Herlene Budol, AZ Martinez, as well as former Hiyas ng Pilipinas candidate Shuvee Etrata.
But many pageant fans were surprised to see actresses Sanya Lopez, Ashley Ortega and Faith Da Silva also included. Despite their looks, none of them has competed in pageants before, leading fans to speculate that Queen of the Islands may not be a real pageant, but rather a publicity stunt for an upcoming project.
Netizens who quickly noticed the unusual star-studded lineup speculated that Queen of the Islands could be a reality show, while others believe it is a movie. A report from Kapuso Crave claimed that it is a production by GMA Pictures.
It can be recalled that last January, the Kapuso movie studio signed a contract with former politician and businessman Chavit Singson for a new film project. The contract signing was attended by Etrata, Da Silva, Vanessa Peña, Skye Chua, Alethea Ambrosio and Jade Tecson, all of whom were later announced as Queendidates in the possibly fictitious pageant.
Also present at the event were Sparkle artists Betong Sumaya, Bianca Manalo and Tim Yap, prompting speculation that they, too, are part of the cast of the yet-to-be-announced movie featuring the pageant.
This is not the first time the former Ilocos Sur governor produced a project with GMA Pictures. They previously produced “Samahan ng mga Makasalanan,” which was released in cinemas last year. Starring Lopez and David Licauco, the satirical comedy follows a deacon who attempts to save the residents of a village from their sins.
Based on what is known about their previous collaboration, this new project may also have a satirical tone, particularly with the pageant maintaining its own social media accounts and presenting itself as if it were a legitimate competition to generate buzz, including videos of candidates introducing themselves.
The apparent cast includes several accomplished beauty queens, including Miss Universe Philippines winners Manalo (2025), Dee (2023), Ganados (2019), Lastimosa (2014) and Arida (2013), as well as Miss Earth-Air 2023 Yllana Aduana and Budol, a Binibining Pilipinas 2022 first runner-up.
Etrata and Martinez were both Hiyas ng Pilipinas 2022 candidates before becoming housemates on “Pinoy Big Brother: Celebrity Collab Edition,” where they became household names. Additionally, Martinez won the Miss Elite Philippines 2022 title in Hiyas, earning the right to compete in the US at Miss Summit International 2023, where she was crowned the winner. The title was later reassigned to first runner-up Jannah Poncy of France, who is of French-Filipino descent, with no official reason given for the change.
Rounding out the Queendidates of in Queen of the Islands are Maika Kemmochi, Sandy Riccio, Rein Hillary, Aira Lopez, MJ Encabo, Haley Dizon, Yza Thalia Uy, Tarah Valencia, and Yna Angela Uy.
Written by Januar Junior Aguja/VAB
