Back-to-back win for PH in Miss Grand Int’l pageant
The Philippines asserted its dominance as an international pageant powerhouse through another historic win, posting back-to-back victories in the Miss Grand International competition in Thailand on Saturday night.
Kapampangan broadcaster Emma Tiglao bested 76 other aspirants during the finale held at MGI Hall in Bangkok to inherit the pageant’s “golden crown” from Christine Juliane “CJ” Opiaza, the first Filipino woman to win the title.
No other country has posted two consecutive victories in the Miss Grand International pageant’s 13-year run.
Tiglao first entered the Top 22 and earned a guaranteed semifinal slot by topping the “Country’s Power of the Year” online poll.
She focused on the country’s battle against corruption in both the Top 10 speech round and the final question-and-answer portion.
During the final round of competition, the Top 5 candidates were asked: “Scammers are an online threat—a form of warfare often tied to human trafficking that has global consequences. Countries such as South Korea and the USA have launched severe crackdowns. What penalties do you think could help dismantle these operations?”
She responded: “As someone who reports these kinds of stories, I really want to use the power of balance. [For] us people to be educated and aware, for us to not be scammed, and a help [from] the government to enhance their justice system for the scammers to be behind bars, to be accountable. Because one day, I hope that we will live in a peaceful world where no one should deceive just to survive.”
News anchor
Tiglao, 30, is a seasoned pageant queen, having competed in the Mutya ng Pilipinas, Miss World Philippines, and Binibining Pilipinas pageants before joining the Miss Grand Philippines search.
She represented the Philippines in the 2019 Miss Intercontinental pageant in Egypt, hoping to succeed Filipino queen Karen Gallman, but finished only in the Top 20.
Tiglao transitioned to broadcasting when she announced her supposed “retirement” from pageantry in 2021, and served as a news anchor for Net25’s primetime newscast “Mata ng Agila.” She now hosts the morning show, “Kada Umaga,” in the same channel.
