Our 6th pair of Official Candidates for Mr & Miss Hannah’s World Tourism Philippines 2018 is a study in contrasting personalities. One is a silent-water-runs-deep kind of guy and the other, a water-loving environmental advocate who can make waves for Mother Nature.

Meet Gerome Bongco #TheFutureChef and Juvel Ducay #TheIslandGirl:

Throw him in the kitchen and he can whip you up a satisfying lunch or dinner in a flash. Bring him to the living room and he can play ukulele in front of everyone. Take him to the court and he can set you up for a mean game of badminton. Gerome can do a lot of things even if he normally looks at such as just fun
stuff to while the time away. More often than not, he gleans vicarious pleasure from the movement of people around him.

“I’m a silent but very observant person who loves to absorb new things like a sponge. I prefer to be discrete and simple with my personal life, but I have the goal of making myself better one day at a time. That way I can challenge people to push themselves in chasing unfamiliar grounds, to do things that one wouldn’t normally do.”

Gerome is a man of few words. But once you get his adrenaline going, he can be quite the livewire with people he has already gotten close to – while preparing a succulent dish of ribeye steak in garlic butter and thyme, dashed with bechamel sauce and mozzarella on the side.

Happy Birthday, Gerome!

The effervescent Juvel is one lady who can walk the talk, especially when it involves concerns about her beloved Bantayan Island in Cebu. She founded the Patao Youth Organization during her term as a Sangguninang Kabataan Chairwoman where she spearheaded environmental programs like coastal clean ups and mangrove plantings. After all, her lifetime advocacy is to protect and preserve the marine ecotourism.

“Growing up in the island, my understanding of the challenges that come with environmental conservation is not just skin deep, but as deep as the sea. I grew up next to one! How much more deeper can I be with the marine ecotourism when Bantayan Island is one of Cebu’s hottest tourism spots that teeters between natural splendor and modern threat. I believe that the incident in Boracay should never happen again both for the residents of local Ecotourist spots and mother nature. Thus my passion to preserve and protect the environment is something very close to my heart and truly found in my roots as the sweet Island Girl.”

“I enjoy walking and spending time in the shorelines. Whenever I’m home, I still get excited whenever the fishermen would dock off their catch as it is in our system for everyone to share in the bounty. This is the system and culture Filipinos are made of and known for, the system and culture of sharing”

This is just the beginning for #TheIslandGirl. She plans to make her presence felt in Mr & Miss Hannah’s World Tourism Philippines 2018 all the way to the sparkling waters of Pagudpud and back.