Bb. Pilipinas Globe Anna Lakrini. Image: INQUIRER.net/Armin P. Adina
MANILA, Philippines — Binibining Pilipinas Globe Anna Lakrini is confident that she will be able to sustain the country’s impressive record in The Miss Globe pageant through the support of Filipinos, who she hopes will “leave the past in the past.”
The German-Filipino nutrition graduate and model from Bataan is aware that there were pageant fans who were dissatisfied with the 2022 global pageant’s results, when her Bb. Pilipinas predecessor Chelsea Fernandez finished “only” in the Top 15 despite topping the grueling “head-to-head” challenge.
“We have to look into the future and leave the past behind. I think Chelsea did a great job last year. And some of her fans weren’t that happy about it. But I think it’s about time to leave that in the past,” Lakrini told INQUIRER.net in an interview after her send-off press conference on Oct. 18.
A lot of disappointed pageant fans did not hold back in maligning the pageant organizer at the culmination of the 2022 competition, with many of them also resorting to hurling insults at the crowned titleholder Anabel Parayno from the Dominican Republic. But Lakrini appealed for sobriety and said, “I look forward to new opportunities. And I hope that all the Filipinos out there can support me and give Miss Globe another chance, and give myself a chance.”
She said she is confident that she will be able to continue the Philippines’ placement streak that started in 2015, when Ann Lorraine Colis was proclaimed as The Miss Globe. Lakrini credits the prestige and legacy of the Bb. Pilipinas pageant for the country’s remarkable showing in the global tilt.
She also cited similarities with the two recent Filipino victors in The Miss Globe, Colis and 2022 winner Maureen Montagne, which may help her score another win for the country in the global tilt. “One thing that so many people told me are that they are really bubbly persons, and I’m bubbly myself, so I am really excited to showcase that I am bubbly, that I love to talk to people, I love to get to know people,” Lakrini shared.
“And I think one thing that I really learned from them is to be myself. And one thing that I learned in my Binibini journey this year was the same thing. So I just want to be who I am today. And showcase to the people all over the globe what kind of a genuine Filipina I am,” she continued.
Lakrini joined the national pageant twice in a row before finally earning the right to represent the country on the international stage. “I think in my first chance I didn’t really have the chance to showcase who I am. I didn’t reach my full potential last year, which is why I joined again, because I wanted to show the world, the globe rather, who I am and what I’m capable of. And I’m so glad that I was authentically me throughout this journey, that I didn’t have to be a certain way because Binibini, and I hope also the globe, will accept me the way I am,” she shared.
The statuesque queen had just arrived in the Philippines after finishing her studies in Germany when she joined the 2022 Bb. Pilipinas pageant, where she landed a spot in the Top 12. She had a more fruitful stint on her second time, and was proclaimed Best in Swimsuit, Jag Denim Queen, and Miss Blanc Beaute on top of being Bb. Pilipinas Globe.
The Miss Globe pageant will crown its 2023 queen in Tirana, Albania, on Nov. 17 (Nov. 18 in Manila). Filipinos may help support Lakrini’s bid for the title by casting their votes online at www.themissglobe.com. /ra