Samantha Bernardo bagged 1st Runner-Up Title in the Miss Grand International
Pageants

Beauty and Eloquence: How Samantha Bernardo bagged 1st Runner-Up Title in the Miss Grand International

Mar 29, 2021, 5:30 AM
Nicole Pulido

Nicole Pulido

Writer

Here’s how one single answer almost gave Samantha Bernardo the crown at the recent Miss Grand International 2021.

The Filipina beauty queen was an early fan favorite and consistently got high votes in the pre-pageant competitions like the swimsuit and national costume segments.

ALTHOUGH the Miss Grand International title remains elusive for the Philippines, Samantha Bernardo left a huge impression at the competition for her eloquence and confidence, which were on full display during her Top 10 speech and the question and answer portions.

With her fine showing, Miss Grand Philippines Samantha Bernardo was named 1st Runner-Up at the Miss Grand International 2020 pageant that was held yesterday, March 27, in Bangkok, Thailand.

It was USA’s Abena Appiah who claimed the title for the Miss Grand International.

Miss Guatemala Ivana Batchelor was 2nd Runner-Up, Miss Indonesia Aurra Kharishma was 3rd Runner-Up, and Brazil bet 2020 Lala Guedes was 4th Runner-Up.

Fan favorite

The 28-year-old Samantha Bernardo, who hails from Palawan, consistently performed well throughout the pageant, and was a fan favorite.

She received high votes for swimsuit and national costume pre-pageant competitions, and even wowed at the evening gown segment.

The Filipina beauty queen was an early fan favorite and consistently got high votes in the pre-pageant competitions like the swimsuit and national costume segments.

Samantha wowed the crowd in her agila (eagle) costume created by local designer Patrick Isorena.

Though Bernardo owned the stage every single time she took it, her crowning moment was in the Q&A portions.

People first

The first question for the remaining Top 5 candidates was “With the current COVID-19 situation, what would you choose? Shutting down the country for the safety of the people, knowing that the country's economy will be deeply affected, or opening up the country to keep the economy running and taking the risk of COVID-19 infections and consequences?"

Bernardo answered: "I will always choose the people. Because without its people, a country will never be a country. We will never be the Philippines without Filipinos, you will never be Thailand without Thais. So it is a must that we should take care of our people first."

"I stand here for love, and peace, and unity, because there will always be a solution no matter what our problems [are] in this life," she went on.

"And I think if we come together as people, as one united world, then we can have a better place to live in. I hope after this pandemic of COVID-19, we can be better citizens."

Tiebreaker

Due to even scores of Miss USA, Philippines and Guatemala in the first Q&A, a tie-breaker question was given to them: "If there's only one dose of COVID-19 vaccine left, who would you give it to: 15 year-old or 70-year old and why?"

"My heart goes to senior citizens because my mom is turning [into a] senior citizen. And I've experienced the loss of my dad four years ago, and I cannot afford to lose my mom. My heart goes to them because they are the most vulnerable during this time," she began her answer.

"A 15-year-old has the stamina to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. And with proper exercise and healthy living, they can live with it. I know as well that every citizen here will choose and never afford to lose their parents. And so, I will choose senior citizen."

Miss Grand International Speech

Upon entering the Top 5 along with Miss Grand USA, Guatemala, Indonesia, and Brazil, these ladies gave their Miss Grand International Speech where they spoke about their different platforms and advocacies once crowned as the Miss Grand International.

During her Miss Grand International speech, Samantha spoke of rising against the different wars happening in the world, be it for a better healthcare system and education, or against racism.

“As a malaria-free Philippines spokesperson, I have always lived up to my faith in humanity, cultural understanding and respect for others. These are what I will continue to stand for if I become your next Miss Grand International,” she said.

“As we face a COVID-19 free world, join me as we work together in mending our conflicts and focusing on what truly matters. We are living under one sky so let us all live peacefully where love is our language, humanity is our race and peace is our lasting legacy in our world.”

Beauty and eloquence

It was truly her beauty and eloquence that captured the hearts and eyes not only of the judges but the whole world watching the pageant. Bernardo proved that even with any adversities that might come her way, Filipinas know how to handle it with our smarts and do it gracefully.

Though Philippines has never won the crown, Bernardo joins previous Miss Grand International Philippines titleholders and crowned queens Elizabeth Clenci (2017, second runner-up) and Nicole Cordoves (2016, first runner-up). (NP)

Tags: #beautypageants, #MissGrandInternational2021, #SamanthaBernardo


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