Miss Earth Philippines 2025 Joy Barcoma addressed critics who, she said, called her out for accepting a hosting gig in a province that allegedly allocated millions for the event.
The beauty queen on Thursday, May 21, acknowledged the supposed backlash over her participation in a festival reportedly costing the province P75 million.
“There were demands that if we’re (artists) really true to our advocacies, then we shouldn’t have accepted it,” she wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Joy is known for being vocal about good governance and social issues, including speaking out about the flood control controversy and calling for the arrest of Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa over his alleged involvement in the drug war-related killings.
She then shared her thoughts on some people’s “demands” regarding her acceptance of the hosting gig, appealing to them to “stop” having that kind of a mindset.
“TIME TO STOP THIS MINDSET. Napaka-dangerous ng culture of moral absolutism where one decision suddenly invalidates YEARS of advocacy and work. Hindi po ‘yan call for accountability. That’s purity politics,” the beauty queen wrote.
“Also, wala pong taong kayang maging purist at absolutist sa moral high ground all the time. People can criticize systems while still existing and working within them every single day. That’s literally how society functions. (e.g. mga union sa kumpanya),” she added.
Joy then argued that it is better for people to be “exposed” to advocates of good governance.
“EXPOSURE TO INFLUENCE MATTERS. Hindi po ba mas okay na mga taong nag-a-advocate for good governance ang ma-expose sa mga tao rather than surrounding public events only [with] political allies [and] supporters?” she wrote.
“If anything, wouldn’t it be healthier for people to encounter voices that openly advocate for accountability, transparency [and] civic awareness? [Because to be honest], even if we don’t accept the job, someone else will. Hindi titigil ang event dahil sa akin/amin. So might as well do the job,” Joy added.
The beauty queen appealed to the public to not to be “purists,” especially when it comes to work.
“Let us not collapse everything into a moral purity test where any association is treated as total ideological alignment. Naroon po ako para mag-host ng pageant, hindi para mag-endorso ng pulitiko,” Joy said.
“Instead of this culture of purity politics, why don’t we play the long game? Show up, do the work [and] allow people to be exposed to voices [and] personalities that advocate for good governance, kahit hindi aligned politically sa mga nakaupo, para mabago ang influence sa kanila,” she added.
The beauty queen urged her supporters to “internally disrupt the system,” saying they can only “weaken systems” if they have access to them.
“Tayo dapat ang maging anay ng bulok na sistema,” she said. “Systems are rarely changed [through] complete detachment.”
“At tsaka, we cannot effectively challenge a broken system if we refuse to engage with the spaces where power, culture [and] public perception are shaped. What do we need? External pressure [plus] internal disruption,” Joy said.
LET ME KNOW YOUR THOUGHTS.
A lot of people are calling me out because I accepted a hosting gig in a province that allegedly alloted P75M for their festival. There were demands that if we’re (artists) really true to our advocacies, then we shouldn’t have accepted it.
— Joy Barcoma (@joymayanne) May 21, 2026
Joy previously hosted the coronation of the Ginoo and Binibining Santo Domingo 2026 pageant on May 11, an event organized by the town of Santo Domingo in Ilocos Sur.
In an appearance on the debate program “YSpeak 2.0” last week, she said that speaking up on issues is a “privilege,” acknowledging that some people may be afraid to be vocal because they could lose job opportunities.
