Maricar Zaldarriaga: Miss Young Pilipinas 1971

 In 1970, the Miss Young Pilipinas title joined the Bb. Pilipinas-Universe and Bb. Pilipinas-International titles at the Binibining Pilipinas Pageant of BPCI to select the Philippines representative to the Miss Young International Pageant in Japan. The winners selected were candidates between the ages of 15 and 18 years old from the roster of Bb. Pilipinas contestants. In 1981, the Miss Young Pilipinas Pageant was held separately from the Bb. Pilipinas Pageant with 10 young Filipinas chosen as the official semifinalists. Then in 1986, the local search finally ended but the Miss Young International Pageant was officially scrapped in 1984 as agreed upon by the Japanese organizers.

Maricar Zaldarriaga represented the Philippines in the 1971 Miss Young International contest in Tokyo. She reached the semifinals and won the Miss Photogenic award. That year was memorable in the history of Philippine beauty pageants: it was a back-to-back Miss Photogenic. Earlier that year, Bb. Pilipinas-Universe Vida Doria was also awarded Miss Photogenic in Miss Universe.

Her name re-surfaced in 2004 when former Trade Secretary Mar Roxas decided to reveal that he had fathered a son out of wedlock, courtesy of Maricar. Their son is name Paolo Gerardo. It was said that Maricar embodied what Roxas likes in a woman: beautiful, intelligent, and a few years older than him.

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