Angelia Ong

Ong was born on June 27, 1990, in the Lapuz railway district in Iloilo City where she finished her primary and secondary education. She studied a few years at St. Paul University Iloilo for her early college education taking up Mass Communications. She finished secondary education at Hua Siong College (formerly Iloilo Central Commercial High School or ICCHS). [1] She moved to Manila in 2011 and pursued her college education taking up Marketing Management at the De La Salle–College of Saint Benilde where she finished and graduated in 2016.[1][2]

During her early teen years, she was a co-host of the now-defunct GMA Network–Iloilo local Sunday variety show, Bongga from 2004 to 2006.

On December 19, 2015, Ong joined environmental group Ecowaste Coalition and launched the “Iwas-Paputoxic” campaign and urged the people, especially youth, to welcome the 2016 New Year using safe and non-toxic materials.[23][24]

She hosted the opening ceremony of the Asia–Pacific Forestry Week 2016 aimed at promoting sustainable forest management on February 23, 2016, which was organized by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, Asia–Pacific Forestry Commission, and the Philippine Department of Environment and Natural Resources.[25]

Ong led ten other beauty queens in launching a project of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, dubbed as “Race to One Million Seedlings”, held in Camp Aguinaldo. The project aims to grow and plant one million tree seedlings across Metro Manila, as part of the National Greening Program, which seeks to increase forest cover in Metro Manila and adjacent regions.[26][27]

Together with Philippine Senator Cynthia Villar, Ong led the Earth Day celebration in the Philippines on April 22, 2016, at the Las Piñas-Parañaque Critical Habitat and Ecotourism Area (LPPCHEA), a wetland situated south of Manila Bay.[28] As an ambassador for environmental protection campaigns in the Philippines, she joined a coastal cleaning effort on the coast of Freedom Island.[29] She also participated with other women in a hand-painting exercise to raise awareness and develop a sense of public responsibility pertaining to environmentally sustainable practices on Earth Day.[30][31]

Ong completed the Climate Reality Leadership Corps training under US Vice President Al Gore, founder and chairman of the Climate Change Reality Project, for her pursuance of effective platform to create environmental awareness on climate change.[32][33][34][35]

Ong travelled to Reunion Islands and crowned Elsa Techer as Miss Earth Reunion Islands 2016 at the culmination of the gala night on May 7, 2016, in Reunion Islands.[36][37] During the Philippines Independence Day on June 12, 2016, she talked about her advocacy to fight climate change.[38] On July 28, 2016, Ong went to the United States to attend the coronation of Miss Earth United States 2016 pageant.[39]

She went to Armenia, Colombia, on August 11, 2016, together with Btittany Ann Payne Miss Earth Water 2016, to crown the winner of Miss Earth Colombia 2016.[40] She also joined the Miss Earth Colombia 2016 candidates for the Todos Ponemos program to promote sustainable development, preservation of natural resources, and "the three Rs": reduce, reuse, recycle.[41]

Ong arrived in Sri Lanka on August 26, 2016, with the invitation by TV Derana. There she crowned the winner Derana Miss Sri Lanka for Miss Earth 2016 on August 31, 2016, at Citrus, Waskaduwa.[42][43] In Sri Lanka, she engaged in numerous environmental projects, including the launching of “Manusath Derana Nature Force’ project, an initiative to plant one million trees in the country where 300 sandalwood plants were initially planted.[42][44] She was accompanied by Brittany Ann Payne, Miss Earth Water 2016.[42][44]

In April 2017, Ong and Miss Earth 2016 Katherine Espín flew to Angola for the Earth Day 2017 and for the crowning of Miss Earth Angola 2017 and also graced a tree planting activity together with Fundacao Verde with the support of the Government of Angola and the Ministerio do Ambiente.[45][46][47]