Miss Supranational Philippines Tarah Valencia. Image: INQUIRER.net/Armin P. Adina
The 2024 Miss Universe Philippines pageant ran a competition period that spanned two months and three weeks, culminating at the grand coronation night on May 22. Miss Supranational Philippines Tarah Valencia said a combination of factors helped her power through until the end.
The 23-year-old Baguio lass, who was also third runner-up in the recent national pageant, sat with a select group of media scribes and online content creators at her contract signing as Miss Villa Medica, a special title she received during the competition, at the Newport Mall in Pasay City on June 13.
There she shared how she sustained herself all throughout her first national competition, maintaining her grace, poise and beauty in what is arguably the most competitive edition of the Miss Universe Philippines pageant with a handful of international veterans among the roster of candidates.
“I really had a great support system, from my family, to my team, they really shouldered some of the things I had to focus on,” Valencia shared with INQUIRER.net in an interview.
Because there were other people who took care of several aspects of her preparations, she said she was able to focus “every step at a time.” She added that she starts her day by thinking of the things she is grateful for, which also motivated her to fight for the crown day after day.
“So I think that was the factor, really, that made me reach the coronation night,” said the cum laude Tourism Management graduate of the University of Baguio, who majored in international tourism.
Valencia also shared that the Miss Universe Philippines Organization (MUPH) took care of the well-being of each of the 53 delegates in this year’s competition, helping them boost their health and amplify their beauty throughout the duration of the competition.
“Villa Medica has been taking care of us during our Miss Universe Philippines journey. So there were a lot of services that they really offered to us, for us to maintain not just our beautiful skin, but also [our] health,” she shared.
And Valencia will certainly enjoy a lot of pampering for her “me-time” as she waits for more than a year before she will be able to represent the Philippines in the Miss Supranational pageant. As her predecessor Alethea gears up for the international competition’s 15th edition this July, she will have her turn to raise the country’s colors in 2025.
Valencia’s Miss Supranational Philippines title is with The Miss Philippines, a sister search of the Miss Universe Philippines pageant under Empire Philippines, which also holds the franchises for other international competitions for both ladies and gentlemen.