A model and student who bears a striking resemblance to Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach is emerging as one of the early favorites in the Miss Manila 2017 pageant organized by Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada to celebrate the 446th Araw ng Maynila.
Candidate No. 1, Glenn Aeela Krishnan has since been gaining a lot of online supporters, mostly Pia’s fans who mistook her as the Miss Universe 2015’s little sister.
In Estrada’s official Facebook page “Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada,” netizens particularly took notice of a photo of Krishnan in swimwear next to Pia’s, which showed the duo’s physical resemblance.
That photo of Krishnan could also be seen in the Facebook page’s “Miss Manila 2017 (swimsuit)” album, which as of Tuesday morning has reached 209,436 people.
Krishnan is one of the 30 young Manileñas vying for the Miss Manila 2017 title. The winner will be crowned during the Grand Coronation Night on June 24, Araw ng Maynila, at the Philippine International Convention Center.
Netizens agreed Krishnan is a look-alike of Pia. “She does look like her,” Lilian Rosales commented.
Another netizen, Jayvee Harry De Leon Quintos, even joked that the two look alike because they have the same biological father.
“I thought Pia was the other one,” added Queen Mae Recapente Ambetic. Yet another netizen, Canon Montecillo, described Krishnan as a “potential title holder.”
A model and student of Trinity University of Asia-College of Business Administration, Krishnan is the younger sister of former basketball courtside reporter Ganiel Krishnan, who finished third in the Miss Asia Pacific International 2016 beauty pageant. Their mother is a Filipino, while their father is Indian-Singaporean.
Pia and Krishnan actually met in an event early this January. Their photo, which was uploaded by a fan account on Instagram, garnered over 2,300 “likes” just a few days after its posting.
The beauty tilt was revived by Estrada when he assumed office in 2013 as the highlight of the yearly Araw ng Maynila celebrations.
The titleholder will become the ambassadress of the city and will be involved in the city’s charitable projects and will represent the country’s capital in various events and functions.
The pageant winner will receive P1 million worth of prizes consisting of a management contract, and P500,000 cash. The 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th runner-ups will win P350,000, P250,000, P150,000, and P100,000 cash prizes, respectively.
Estrada revived the annual pageant to bring attention to the city’s rich culture, and “to the beauty, intelligence, inherent generosity, and kindness of the Manilenya.”
The beauty pageant, he said, symbolizes his administration’s continuing vision to bring back Manila’s old beauty and as Asia’s “Pearl of the Orient.”
He recounted that Miss Manila originated from the Miss Carnival Queen in the early 1900s, a title subsequently won by his mother, Maria Marcelo, in 1925.