The candidates of Miss Dinagyang will be given the opportunity to be carriers of the social, cultural and educational advocacies to showcase Ilonggo’s beauty in diversity in a move to attract more tourists to the city.

The search is one of the highlights of Dinagyang Festival, the city’s premier tourism extravaganza celebrated every fourth week of January.

The festival is a Hall of Fame winner after having been selected by the Association of Tourism Officers of the Philippines (Atop) as the best tourism event in the country for the last three years.

For this year, the organizers will introduce an innovative search component where candidates will create their own gown made from recycled paper embellished with indigenous materials in deference to the green environment program of the City Government.

The candidates for Miss Dinagyang 2009 are

1. Luisa Ace Lambito, 16 years old of Savior International School
2. Jocelyn Caceres, 20, of Western Institute of Technology
3. Stephanie Juanitas, 20, of the University of Iloilo
4. Rapunzel Crystal Palma, 18, of WVSU
5. Wena Amor Paurillio, 19 of Maasin, Iloilo
6. Natalie Grace Roberts, 17, of CPU
7. Sheryl Maye Manalo, 19 of CPU
8. Marie June Bebing, 20, of University of San Agustin
9. Karla Dawn Yaneza, 18, of WVSU
10. Kharessa Jyanne Simoy, 21, USA
11. Ma. Soriel Sorel, 19, of WVSU
12. Geline Antonette Cabrera, 18 of CPU
13. Kathlene Gamboa, 18, of CPU