Miss Philippines Earth

In November 2000, Carousel Productions lost their contract with Miss Asia Pacific Quest Incorporated (MAPQI) and its affiliate Mutya ng Pilipinas to GMA Network, having worked with them since 1992.^[1] Lorraine Schuck, the executive vice president of Carousel and a former winner of the latter contest, recalled that they had conceded their contract to GMA after learning that they had given a "better offer" to the MAPQI and instead chose to establish a new competition.^[2]

In April 2001, Carousel launched the Miss Earth pageant and its national counterpart Miss Philippines, which is responsible for selecting the Philippine delegate to the international competition.^[3][4] Like its parent organization, the Miss Philippines differentiates itself with its focus on environmental causes, requiring its competitors to engage in environmental initiatives.^[5][6] Since its founding, the pageant has been headed by Schuck's husband, Ramon Monzon who is also the president, CEO, and director of the Philippine Stock Exchange and chairman of the PSE Foundation, Inc.^[7][8][9] and spearheaded by Schuck as executive vice president and Peachy Veneracion as the vice president and project director.^[10][11][12]

The pageant has tie-ins with the Philippine government agencies including the Department of Tourism, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, as well as international environmental groups such as the United Nations Environment Programme, and Greenpeace to further its environmental advocacy.^[13][14]

In 2004, Carousel renamed the pageant to Miss Philippines Earth, a name that continued until 2018 when it was changed to Miss Earth Philippines to emphasize the global "Miss Earth" brand.^[15][16][17] However, in 2019, the pageant reverted its name to "Miss Philippines Earth" to assert to its legal rights claim.^[16]

From 2020 to 2021, Carousel organized the competition as a virtual event as a result of travel restrictions and public health concerns emerging in light of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines.^[18] The pageant returned as a physical competition in the 2022 edition, following the easing of pandemic restrictions.^[19]

From 2001 to 2007, the pageant held preliminary contests in the regions of the Philippines, through its local franchises. The winners of those contests in turn competed with 12 more contestants from the National Capital Region for the Miss Philippines Earth title.^[20][21] In 2006, franchises were opened to Filipino diaspora communities.^[6][22] In 2008, Miss Philippines Earth broadened its coverage to include candidates from various provinces, cities, and selected municipalities.^{[20][21][6][22]}

Four Miss Philippines Earth winners have won at Miss Earth: Karla Henry in 2008, Jamie Herrell in 2014, Angelia Ong in 2015, and Karen Ibasco in 2017.

The contestants are named Beauties for a Cause in keeping with the pageant's environmental advoacy.^[23][24][25] The competition evaluates the competitors in a number of segments, including swimsuit competition, evening gown parade, talent competition, but more weight is given to personality and ecological and environmental intelligence in the interview portion.^[26] Since 2009, the judges select 10 finalists to compete for a spot in the top five, from which the winner and her runners-up are selected.^[27][28][29] The winner, styled as Miss Philippines Earth, goes on to represent her country in the Miss Earth pageant. From 2005 to 2010, the pageant also appointed one of the runners-up or finalists to represent the country at the Miss Tourism Queen International.^[20][21][30]

Mirroring the pageant's international counterpart, the runners-up, organized as an "elemental court", have been given titles named after natural elements and environmental themes: eco-tourism (fourth runner-up), fire (third runner-up), water (second runner-up), and air (first runner-up).^[20][21] These rankings were abolished in the 2017 pageant and the elemental titleholders have since been ranked equally.^[31][32]

Since its inception, the winners of Miss Philippines Earth and her elemental courts have embarked on legacy projects.^[39]

• 2006: Cathy Untalan and her elemental court wrote a book titled 'Bakawan' (transl. Mangrove Forest), which was used by the "Bright Minds Read Campaign" of the Department of Education and included in the read-alongs project of the Philippine Daily Inquirer.^[40][41]
• 2007: The winners produced reusable bags made of plastic scraps as part of the "I Love ME project" campaign.^[39]
• 2008: The winners organized the "20k OK" project planted 20,000 seedlings in the different areas of the Philippines.^[39]
• 2009: The winners came up with the documentary film Project Noel and won the first Loren Legarda Environment Award.^[42][43]
• 2011: The winners created used photos and handmade puppets as part of read-along session to children to illustrate the dangers of improper disposal of plastic waste.^[41]