A Different Miss Asia Pacific International This Year

 

Certainly, this year's Miss Asia Pacific International pageant felt so different. Last October 8th, Cebu Coliseum became the venue for the crowning of this year's queen, Isabela Fernandes of Brazil. Her advocacy on education and sustainability proved to be a huge factor in her gaining the crown. 

1st Runner Up went to the Philippines very own Anita Rose Gomez while 2nd, 3rd and 4th Runner Up posts went to Bowomrat Maneerat of Thailand, Jana Jannsens of Belgium and Delilah Almira Wildboer of the Netherlands. These ladies showcased not just their culture, but the individual causes they support in line with their own stories and the event's theme #HERStoryAblaze. These ladies also competed for their National Costume, Swimsuit and Evening Gowns. The special awards went to Bowomorat Maneerat representing Thailand for the National Costume, Anita Rose Gomez of the Philippines for the Best in Swimsuit and Isabela Fernandes of Brazil for the Evening Gown. They gave the Miss Photogenic award to Danube Kangjam of India and the Peoples Choice to UK's Anne Gomes.

This year also marks a new set of women representing the best of the regions, they're named Continental Queens. For the Americas, Michelle Whilar Lazarte of Peru won it. For Asia Aisyah Amini of Indonesia got it. For Europe Delilah Elmira Wildeboer of the Netherlands got the crown. For Africa, it went to South Africa's Bejandri Lourens while for Oceania was awarded to New Zealand's Hannah Leigh Cross. 

A Heartfelt Advocacy

All 43 delegates have experienced the 6.9 magnitude earthquake in the province of Cebu (Bogo City). Instead of the usual fanfare, the queens took part in relief efforts and took to streets and shelters, joined several partner NGO's, private entities to make sure they got to comfort those ravaged by the calamity. They were also in the Operation Smile gala when it happened, and it was heartwarming to see them helping during that time. They're definitely beauty queens with compassion, took their gloves off and cared for those in need. That made it all different this year, the pageant had lux and elegance, but it was being human that mattered most. Seeing that was certainly precious!

Mathew Sygal So of Marikina Vies for Mister International PH 2023

Having a quiet life must be something that people would wish for, and I wouldn't blame them because it's an easy route. A few days ago, we met with Marikina City's representative for the Mister International 2023 pageant Mathew Sygal So. He's a Management Engineering student from the Ateneo de Manila University (a very tough course!), and he had a reason why he joined. I didn't have to think about it because at the venue, there were several PWD's clad in their country uniforms. They were athletes who won several bronze, silver and gold medals from the recent ASEAN Para Games 2023. They have represented the country well. It was so awesome to see them all cheering him on.

They were from the National Council on Disability Affairs which he's been actively involved in these past few years. Prior to him joining the pageant, he was hailed as their ambassador. Which is why one of the reasons he wanted to join Mister International Philippines 2023 was to further their cause. Here's part of the interview we did with Mathew:

 

It's so nice that he was game to also answer questions about joining showbiz and perhaps politics later on. But for now, he's glad that he was able to tell a story about his passion on giving PWD's a voice, to hopefully have awareness so everyone would practice equality, because he believes that if they were given the same opportunities, the too can do it.

I hope this has given you more insight about their plight, Mathew Sygal So is going to do his best to further make this cause heard in the international scene to hopefully have more people hear about their plight and see why he deserves a title in Mister International 2023. 

Here's wishing you would win Mathew! Cheers!

Meet Miss World Philippines Candidate Gwendolyn Fourniol

Negros Occidental is my province and I'm so glad they're being represented well in the Miss World Philippines pageant as Filipino-French lass Gwendolyn Fourniol vies for the title this 2022.

Gwen is pushing for the education platform to promote ERDA Foundation (Edicational Research and Development Assistance) which is a non-stock, non-profit organization aimed to help underprivileged kids to have education and change their lives. This cause is something that hits home for her because her Mom Sim Bolivar (albeit poor) was saved by the organization, got her to finish an AB Psychology degree at Philippine Womens University. This has given her Mom an opportunity to work abroad where she also met Gwen's Father. It's one of the reasons why she's very involved in ERDA's projects, as it has also been her advocacy to help kids, to hopefully have the same chance in life.

For her, Miss World Philippines does beauty with a purpose. She also plans to put up a French language school in the future to hone Filipinos to speak English, Tagalog and French which she also knows. Gwen is curently pursuing an Economics degree in Oxford Brooks based in London, UK and plans to also get internship from multinational corp JP Morgan.

This officially her second shot at the Miss World Philippines title. She's done a remarkable job last time as she was able to get into the top 15 semi finalists. I'm glad to see her becoming a heavy favorite with netizens and pageant enthusiasts but I must say, I'm not surprised. She's got the looks, but best of all, she's got the heart to become a worthy title holder.

Gwen also has a team behind her led by ProMedia's Paul Izon Reyes, Jam Aquino of Belle Salon. They are pioneers of beauty pageants and body building competitions and they trained her differently. She's got the looks, inner strength, very smart and confident. They also believe in her cause and know it puts her ahead of the pack. Hopefully, she'll do good in the Miss World Philippines 2022 pageant, and represent the country in an even larger platform such as Miss World. If Gwen can help thousands get education in the Philippines, if that happens in a world stage, it could make an even bigger impact. Here's to Candidate number 25, wishing you get that title for Negros Occidental, the Philippines and the world!