Chatham resident wins Miss Philippines Canada 2023 pageant

Chatham resident, Julia Duenas, who is proud of her Filipino heritage, has taken that to a new level winning the Miss Philippines Canada 2023 pageant.

This was the first pageant the 24-year-old has entered, noting she only learned about it while at a family event when the pageant director met her and suggested she enter. The pageant was held July 15 in Toronto.

“I did some research about the pageant,” Duenas said. “I was more interested in the part that I would be doing charity work if I won.”

She will be heading to the Philippines in January to do some charity work in the Lucena City area, where her father Gerry Duenas is from.

The pageant has partnered with Philippine-Canadian Charitable Foundation (PCCF), a non-profit organization that aids the less fortunate in the Philippines. Duenas hasn’t received details about the work that will be done, but said she knows in the past they have built houses in communities.

Duenas said she was recently in the Philippines to visit relatives in Lucena City as well her on mom Vivian’s side of the family in the Cagayan De Oro area.

Her family moved to Chatham in 2008 and have been here ever since, she said.

Her parents played a role in helping Duenas win the pageant by joining her in performing a traditional folk song called “Lawiswis Kawayan.” Duenas played the marimba, which she described as a “giant wooden xylophone,” accompanied by her mom on the piano and her dad played guitar.

The question and answer portion of the pageant is where Duenas was able to express how proud she is of her Filipino heritage.

She was asked about how important it is for her to maintain her Filipino roots and how she can promote her Filipino culture to others. Duenas said a way she shares her culture with others in Chatham is by inviting friends and family to the Filipino-Canadian Community events where the culture is shared through music, dance and food.

“These events welcome everyone to join, just as Canada embraces diversity,” she said.

After winning the first pageant she entered, it didn’t take long for Duenas to get noticed in Canadian pageant circles.

“I’ve been encouraged a lot by people to be joining other pageants, but as of right now I’m still thinking about it,” she said.

Duenas is on a career path to becoming a registered nurse.

The Ursuline College Chatham graduate completed the practical nursing program at St. Clair College in Chatham then worked for a year full-time at the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance.

She’s still working casual part-time shifts at CKHA while enrolled in the registered nursing program at McMaster University in Hamilton.

Duenas said being in the pageant was a good, fun experience, but she wants to see how this year goes before considering pursing pageants further.