At the end of the premiere episode, Manila Luzon jokingly listed down how Filipinos have held records such as the world’s shortest man for a while and the “greatest robbery by a government”.
“Welcome to the Philippines and our love of pageants. A home for the world-renowned Filipina beauty but not just that. Filipino talent is also recognized around the world for having world-class performers like singers, dancers, actors, and drag queens,” Manila Luzon said.
“Even world records like the world’s shortest man, the world’s tallest bamboo statue, and even the world’s greatest robbery of a government and that’s a fact,” they added in jest.
President Ferdinand Marcos Sr was once listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for holding the “greatest robbery of a government” but this entry is no longer accessible on the trivia book’s website.
For a time Junrey Balawing was the world’s shortest man alive at 0.67 meters.
After the premiere episode’s launch, #DragDenPH was the top trending topic on Twitter with more than 2,000 tweets.
“Drag Den Philippines” was unveiled in July 2021 as the “first-ever drag reality show” in the country, and by August held its auditions for aspiring queens.
However, it was “Drag Race Philippines,” the local version of the wildly popular “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” that first aired with Precious Paula Nicole winning the crown.
Manila Luzon made their international breakthrough via “RuPaul’s Drag Race” in 2011. They then appeared in two “All Stars” editions of the show, in 2012 then in 2018.