Bb. Pilipinas Hannah Arnold, a forensic scientist, is happy to merge science with pageantry
Bb. Pilipinas International Hannah Arnold/ARMIN P. ADINA
MANILA, Philippines — Binibining Pilipinas Hannah Arnold has released social media posts covering poverty, hunger, and good health and well-being. Apparently, there are more to come from the Philippines’ Miss International bet.
All in all, the Australian-Filipino forensic scientist from Masbate will be releasing 17 social media posts touching on several matters, to correspond to each of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) adopted by United Nations (UN) member-states in 2015 to meet by 2030.
Arnold’s recent actions are also in line with the Miss International pageant’s thrust of supporting the SDGs for its 60th edition this year. She has so far covered the first three goals—no poverty, zero hunger, and good health and well-being.
The remaining SDGs are quality education; gender equality; clean water and sanitation; affordable and clean energy; decent work and economic growth; industry, innovation, and infrastructure; reduced inequalities; sustainable cities and communities; responsible consumption and production; climate action; life below water; life on land; peace, justice, and strong institutions; and partnerships for the goals.
“My two passions have really come together, science and pageantry,” the applied science and forensic studies graduate of the University of Canberra in Australia said at her send-off press conference held at the Novotel Manila Araneta City in Quezon City on Nov. 15.
Arnold said she believes her scientific background will help her tackle the UN SDGs, derive solutions in her own personal capacity, and rally support for actions to help achieve the goals. At her back is the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) who has adopted her as their ambassador.
She shared that she learned that people from the DOST watched her during the 2020 Bb. Pilipinas pageant and noted how she expressed her desire to further push science education in the country during her introductory speech. The agency later congratulated her for winning, she said, and got in touch with her to explore collaborations.
Now the DOST has even hosted its own send-off for Arnold as she heads to Tokyo, Japan, for the 2022 Miss International pageant, which will culminate in a coronation program to be staged at the Tokyo Dome City Hall on Dec. 13.
Hannah Arnold (third from left) huddles with her fellow Bb. Pilipinas queens (from left) Stacey Gabriel, Chelsea Fernandez, Samantha Panlilio, Gabrielle Basiano, and Nicole Borromeo./ARMIN P. ADINA
Arnold had patiently waited for the opportunity to finally represent the Philippines on the international stage. She said she has been training for pageantry since 2018. She first set foot on the Bb. Pilipinas stage in 2019, where she finished in the semifinals.
She signed up again for the national pageant in 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic pushed it aside. It was resumed in 2021, but she was still not able to see action abroad because the Miss International pageant was again postponed that year. The national pageant staged its 2022 edition in July where Arnold crowned her Bb. Pilipinas successor even if she had not yet competed on the international arena.
And now the time that Arnold had been patiently waiting for has come. She will soon fly to Tokyo to stake her claim on the new Long Beach Pearl crown, and attempt to give the Philippines its seventh Miss International victory.
Help her advance in the competition by voting on the Miss International pageant mobile app, available on the Play Store or the App Store. Voting starts on Nov. 30.
From among the global tilts, the Philippines has achieved its greatest success in the Miss International pageant with six winners—Gemma Cruz (1964), Aurora Pijuan (1970), Melanie Marquez (1979), Precious Lara Quigaman (2005), Bea Rose Santiago (2013), and Kylie Verzosa (2016).
The pageant’s first winner is Bb. Pilipinas Charities Inc. Chair Stella Marquez Araneta, who represented her native Colombia. EDV
