Chosen sons of Benguet, Delefher Comising and Kyle Kimayong are now vying to reign on the national stage and carry-off the crown in the upcoming Mister Island Tourism (MIT) 2023 to be held in Il Corso, Cebu City from April 22 to April 30.
The beauty of Cordillera does not only exude in its scenic mountain ranges and natural resources but also manifests this glory in its people. As the two young Igorot stunners train their brains and brawn for the first-ever cebu-based national pageant for males, competing with 25 candidates from all over the country.
Itogonian hunk beyond the bahag
Delefher Comising hails from the town of Itogon, where the mineral belt runs through the entire land and is home to abundant gold and copper reserves found alongside its popular mountain ranges.
A miner's son, Comising strongly advocates the welfare of knowledge and that every individual deserves education regardless of age, heritage, and status.
Shoulder to shoulder with friends and family, this 25-year old established a non-profit organization called "Circle of Hope" which aims to open opportunities and livelihood for people in far-flung areas.
Au contraire to his bad-boy vibe, Comising is a soft-hearted hearted charmer that aims to open doors of opportunity not only in his locality, but the whole country through the different keys of tourism.
Comising has garnered promising local titles in the past years, namely; Mr. Poblacion 2014, Mr. Itogon 2016, Mr. NIIT and Mr. BAPTI. He has competed and ranked high consistently on the recently concluded national pageant, Greatman of the Universe-Philippines.
Some of his hobbies include sports, online games, and electronics.
Kibungan's Boy Next Door
At a young age of 21, Kyle Kimayong embodies the landlocked municipality of Kibungan and stands to represent what was known once as "the Switzerland of Benguet".
Kimayong is an active youth leader and plans to promote his advocacy through youth empowerment and technology. A believer of starting young, he aims to promote sports, arts, and crafts as a means of encouraging the young people in his community and giving them a sense of leadership.
This boy-next-door plans to boost the economy by inspiring people to travel and give light to untouched islands wherein culture and hospitality may thrive.
Kyle spends his free time in the gym and has taken interest in fashion, photography and traveling.
Bontoc charm trail-blazes cordillera pageant standards
It is not surprising that today's youth favor protecting this natural beauty given that the Cordillera is known for its picturesque mountains, lush pine forests, and abundance of wildlife. Which makes platforms such as pageants one of the greatest tools for awareness.
Mister Earth Philippines Air 2023, Kurt Justin Santiago, is the current mentor and trainer of the region's representatives for Mister Island Tourism 2023, regardless of the difference in pageant franchise.
Santiago firmly stands on the ideals of an ambassador having a meaningful term and is honing both Comising and Kimayong to focus on their advocacies.
"I think the perfect ambassador would be one who has initiative to really pursue whatever advocacy they started during their pageant.So ang real test ng pagiging ambassador is what they do after getting a crown" expressed Santiago.
The cordilleran earth warrior has recently been acknowledged as a face of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and has multiple government programs and campaigns promoting the 17 sustainable development goals of the United Nations (UN)
Cordillera Men: A Mecca of Beauty and Brain
For the past years, the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) has flourished well both at the national and international level when it comes to the pageant industry.
Benguet has won its first international crown after Kenneth Jhayve Bautista garnered the title of Mister Model Search International 2022 on January 7,20222, followed by another international win by Kevin Claud Beray for the crown Mr. World Culture 2023.
Another notable international pageant win is by Mr. Universe Tourism 2019 first-runner up, Kelvin Aguilan Vicente.
