MANILA, Philippines – Miss Philippines Bea Rose Santiago was crowned Miss International 2013 on Tuesday, December 17 at the Shinagawa Prince Hotel Hall in Tokyo.
This is the 5th Miss International title for the Philippines and the 3rd major crown by a Filipina this year, following wins by Megan Young at Miss World and Mutya Datul at Miss Supranational.
Minutes before her crowning, Santiago delivered her final statement using the opportunity to thank the world for standing with the Philippine during the onslaught of Typhoon Haiyan calling for unity among nations, "If I win the crown, I will help promote camaraderie among countries."
Santiago dedicated her win to her countrymen, "This is for the Philippines. I love you Philippines.”
Miss Netherlands was crowned first runner and Miss New Zealand was second runner up. Other members of the Top 5 were Colombia and Hungary.
The Top 15 were Gibraltar, Brazil, Puerto Rico, Ecuador, Hungary, Netherlands, United States, Philippines, New Zealand, Lithuania, Iceland, Colombia, Russia, Thailand, and Spain.
Over 60 candidates from all over the world competed in the pageant held to "promote people-to-people and cultural exchanges as international contributions."
Since 1960, the pageant has been strengthening ties among nations through international exchanges and social programs geared toward "world peace and mutual understanding."
The Philippines has a rich history in the Miss International pageant beginning with Gemma Teresa Cruz (Araneta) who was the first Filipino and first Asian to win the pageant in 1964. Other winners include Aurora Pijuan in 1970, Melanie Marquez in 1979, and Precious Lara Quigaman in 2005. - Rappler.com
