Former Miss Mandaue joins pageant headed by her 1st runner-up

CEBU, Philippines — Louise Tan Theunis made headlines in 2018 for being a Pharmacy Board topnotcher who was also a pageant winner. Beauty and brains, the news sites trumpeted.

This year, the magna cum laude graduate from Cebu Doctors’ University is once again making her mark as a young national pageant director at 21 years old. Theunis, the reigning Miss Bikini Philippines, is head of Miss FIT Philippines, the newest pageant in the new normal.

Placing emphasis on holistic fitness, the virtual tilt’s acronym FIT stands for Face, Intelligence and Toned Body.

“This pageant is a search not just for a pretty face, a sharp mind and a fit body…the Miss FIT Philippines candidates are bringing the whole package and more. Good physical, emotional and mental health and strength are important for us to become better people inside and out, to strive for our goals as empowered women,” said Theunis.

The Filipina-Belgian fitness enthusiast added that throughout this pageant, candidates will be provided training sessions on personality development, public speaking, stress management, skin care, nutrition and exercise.

“This is because we want them to realize their strengths and weaknesses so they can learn to project their beauty in the best way,” she shared.

Candidates will be competing in swimwear, evening gown, a fitness challenge and question-and-answer. The winner will receive over 300,000 pesos cash and products.

A familiar name among the 24 Miss FIT Philippines 2020 candidates is Dumaguete City’s Malka Shaver, who last year finished in the Top 25 of Binibining Pilipinas. She also won Miss Mandaue 2016 – and her first runner-up in that edition happens to be Theunis (also a Miss World Philippines 2019 semi-finalist). Shaver, 25, is an Executive Secretary for Phil Pharma.

Also making the cut as Miss FIT Philippines 2020 candidate are Reyna Jane Amparado, a 21-year-old Pharmacy graduate from Cebu City who currently works as a Customer Service Representative; and Christine Jay Romero, a 20-year-old student at Indiana Aerospace University hailing from Tingub, Mandaue City.