Gwendolyne Fourniol, Michelle Arceo on who they want to crown as successors

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Reigning Miss World Philippines Gwendolyne Fourniol and Reina Hispanoamericana Segunda Finalista (second runner-up) Michelle Arceo. Image: INQUIRER.net/Armin P. Adina

New queens will be crowned at the 2024 Miss World Philippines pageant’s coronation show tonight, and a couple of the reigning queens have shared with INQUIRER.net who they want to inherit their respective national titles.

Gwendolyne Fourniol will finally get to relinquish her Miss World Philippines title two years since winning the crown in 2022, and after qualifying for several fast-track events at the 71st Miss World pageant held in India in March.

“I want a woman who is empowered, who is also empowering those around her, and will never forget that even after she is crowned, or even if she isn’t crowned,” the French-Filipino lass from Himamaylan, Negros Occidental, said in an interview.

“Of course, it’s generations of legacy that I’ll be passing on, and I want someone who is well-rounded, someone who has all the abilities, someone who can take that responsibility, not just for herself, but for the community that is around her,” she added.

Fourniol has been hand-on in providing assistance to the ERDA (Educational Research and Development Assistance) Foundation, the same organization that helped send her mother to school as a young girl. “Until now I’m still helping them, and even celebrating my birthdays with them,” she shared.

Arceo earned her Reina Hispanoamericana Filipinas title at the 2023 Miss Grand International pageant. She is set to relinquish her national title to her successor, who will be chosen from the roster of 2024 Miss World Philippines delegates.

She finished as second runner-up in the 2023 Reina Hispanoamericana pageant held in Bolivia in January, the third Filipino woman to crack the winners’ circle after Teresita Ssen “Winwyn” Marquez won the international crown in 2017.

Arceo said she hopes the Reina Hispanoamericana Filipinas title will go to a lady with personality. “Because I think that’s super-super important when they venture off to Bolivia. Latinos really love that spunk and fire,” she explained.

“I wanna see a girl who’s passionate about everything that she does, with her walk, the way that she performs, and the way that she speaks. It should really embody that of our Spanish roots and Spanish culture,” she added.

Another prize is at stake in the national pageant, the Miss Philippines Tourism title whose previous recipients were Glyssa Perez, Trisha Martinez, and Herlene Nicole Budol.

Thirty-three ladies are competing in this year’s Miss World Philippines pageant. The winners will be crowned at the culmination of the final show to be held at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City tonight, July 19.