PAGEANT fans had a field day when the Miss Eco International pageant released social media posts that earned laughs including from reigning Filipino queen Alexie Brooks.
First, the global pageant organization inadvertently included two caption options for a post announcing the queen’s arrival in Orlando, Florida, in the United States for the Miss Eco North America competition.
The post, although later edited to retain only one option, attracted comments from pageant followers. It was then pulled out, and another post was made.
However, the new post included another gaffe. An emoji of North Korea’s flag was placed after “Miss Eco North America,” which resulted in another round of social media fanfare among pageant fans.
“Hays sge na nga okay na to (this will suffice),” Brooks said when she shared the post from the Miss Eco International social media account. “Its giving ‘annyeonghaseyo Orlando Florida,’” she jested.
The post was edited to remove the emoji but with an additional line that said, “Option 3 [laughing emoji],” apparently pertaining to the earlier blunder that showed the two earlier caption options.
In her response to those who poked fun at the posts, Brooks said she would have chosen “Option 2” which the original caption said was “more engaging & social.”
Reigning Miss Philippines Earth Joy Barcoma, who has built a reputation for being witty on social media, shared the now-deleted post and said she chose Option 2. Brooks commented and said one option had already won over the other.
Brooks was invited to serve as one of the judges in the pageant in Orlando. “Orientation complete for Miss Eco North America [Earth emoji][green heart emoji],” she posted on social media.
“Loved meeting all the beautiful candidates and can’t wait to connect with them more during the closed-door interviews later!” continued the Ilongga national athlete.
Brooks is set to relinquish her Miss Eco International title to her successor who will be crowned at a competition that will be held in Alexandria, Egypt, in May.
The Philippines has had an unblemished record in the international pageant since Cynthia Thomalla scored the country’s first victory in 2018, with all entries garnering placements including another win courtesy of Kathleen Paton in 2022.
This year, Cebuana medical doctor Gabriella Carballo hopes to post the first-ever back-to-back in the Miss Eco International pageant’s history. She earned her national title after finishing as a finalist in the 2025 Miss Universe Philippines pageant. (Armin P. Adina © Philippine Daily Inquirer)
