(From left) Gwendolyne Fourniol, Rona Lalaine Lopez, Nikhisah Buenafe Cheveh, and Stacey De Ocampo. (Image: Instagram/@missworld, Armin P. Adina/INQUIRER.net)
LINGAYEN, Pangasinan — More than a week since the shocking exclusion of Gwendolyne Fourniol from the quarterfinals of the 71st Miss World Festival in India, the Filipino contender received nothing but love and praises from Pangasinan queens she helped get crowned last year.
The French-Filipino model and education advocate was a judge in the 2023 Limgas na Pangasinan pageant, held after a three-year hiatus, and the top winner h in 2023ad nothing but good words for her.
“I’ve seen your journey, and I’m a true supporter and a true fan. I know that you have been through a lot of hardships, and you’ve inspired me, and you’ve inspired a lot of girls out there. So even without the Miss World crown, you are a Miss World at heart,” said Limgas na Pangasinan-World Nikhisah Buenafe Cheveh.
Cheveh spoke with INQUIRER.NET at the sidelines of the media presentation of the 2024 Limgas na Pangasinan delegates held at Monarch Hotel in Calasiao, Pangasinan, on March 17.
There, she was joined by her two fellow titleholders, Limgas na Pangasinan-Grand Rona Lalaine Lopez and Limgas na Pangasinan-Mutya Stacey De Ocampo.
Both Cheveh and De Ocampo have not yet competed in their respective national pageants because their contests were postponed this year, while Lopez participated in the 2023 Miss Grand Philippines pageant where she finished in the semifinals.
“She’s still Miss World for me,” Lopez said of Fourniol, whom she has encountered personally during her national competition.
“My message would be, for her to never give up on her dreams. She fought so hard in the Miss World Philippines, and most especially in the international pageant,” she continued.
De Ocampo, for her part, said, “Miss World is about beauty with a purpose. And I hope she will not lose heart on her purpose, and she keeps on going to pursue that. And I’m very proud of her. I’m happy for her performance as a Filipino. I’m proud of being a Filipino because of her performance.”
Reigning Limgas na Pangasinan queens (from left) Rona Lalaine Lopez, Nikhisah Buenafe Cheveh, and Stacey De Ocampo. Image: Armin P. Adina/INQUIRER.net
The three provincial queens expressed their disbelief at Fourniol’s exclusion from the Top 40 delegates announced at the 71st Miss World final show held at the Jio World Convention Center in Mumbai, India, on March 9.
“I knew that she really worked hard quietly on her advocacy and really on all of the fast-track challenges, and she was on the shortlist of those fast-track challenges. So I was really expecting her to get the call,” Cheveh said.
De Ocampo agreed, and said, “I believe that she deserves more, and she performed very well. And we saw that she made it in every challenge, so we were expecting even just the Top 40. So it’s very heartbreaking that she did not make it in the Top 40.”
Cheveh will try to inherit Fourniol’s national crown in the 2024 Miss World Philippines pageant later this year.
“I’ll be showing up with the best that I can, especially with the support of Pangasinan. I believe that I’m gonna put a good fight. And I really hope that I do win in the Miss World,” she said.
“I have a lot to offer, I have a lot of stories. And I have something different. But you’ll get to see it in Miss World. But again, at the end of the day, it’s destiny. And I know that if it’s for me, then I’m gonna be crowned. And if it’s not, then there’s something better out there for me, and I truly believe in that,” she added.
The 2024 Limgas na Pangasinan pageant will still proclaim three winners who will be sent to national competitions.
Pageant chairperson Maan Tuazon-Guico, wife of Pangasinan Gov. Ramon Guico III, issued a clarification and said that because Cheveh and De Ocampo will compete in this year’s edition of the Miss World Philippines and Mutya ng Pilipinas contests, respectively, their successors will represent the province in the national arena in 2025.