BAGUIO CITY—The city government will honor reigning Miss International Kylie Verzosa, mixed martial arts champion Eduard Folayang, and wushu artist Divine Wali—all natives of the Cordillera region—in the coming days.
Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan said they will fete Verzosa with a motorcade once she arrives in the city on Saturday, November 26. The city is also asking Verzosa’s managers if she can attend the flag-raising ceremony on Monday, November 28, so she can be presented to the people of Baguio.
The city will also honor Folayang with a motorcade after the fighter dubbed “Landslide” won the ONE Fighting Championship lightweight championship over Japan’s Shinya Aoki last Nov. 11 in Singapore.
Wali, the first Filipina to win a gold medal in the World Wushu Championship recently held in China, will be accorded a similar welcome, Domogan said.
He pointed out the supreme sacrifice made by the beauty titlist and the athletes in preparing for their international exposures thus “bringing honor and pride not only to our country but also to the city where they come from.”
Verzosa became the sixth Filipina to win the Miss International crown when she beat a field of 69 contestants in the beauty pageant last Oct. 27 in Tokyo, Japan. She earned the right to represent the country after winning in the Binibining Pilipinas pageant last April.
Folayang and Wali, who happen to be first cousins, trace their roots to Sadanga, Mountain Province, and were students at the Baguio-based University of the Cordilleras.
Before shifting to mixed martial arts, Folayang was a wushu gold medalist for the country in the 2011 Southeast Asian Games apart from winning various medals in international competitions over the years.