Newly-crowned Miss Asia Pacific International Janelis Leyba. ARMIN P. ADINA
Janelis Leyba‘s coronation as the United States’ first Miss Asia Pacific International winner in the most recent staging of the global tilt was warmly received by the pageant community.
And the convincing victory she posted at the culmination of the coronation show held at the Newport Performing Arts Theater in Pasay City on Monday night, Oct. 7, was not her only stake at the crown. She was able to beat 32 other aspirants for far deeper reasons.
“I plan to use my title to advocate for kids, so that they can get proper healthcare,” Leyba told INQUIRER.net in an interview after her proclamation as the new queen.
“I also lost my brother to cancer when I was younger. So I just wanna make sure that kids all over the world get the healthcare that they deserve,” added the queen, who also shared during the competition that she had lost her father, too.
During the Top 10 question round of the Miss Asia Pacific International, Leyba said, “if I could have a heart-to-heart discussion with anyone, it would be my father who passed away when I was 9 years old. And I would tell him how him passing away has changed my life.”
Her voice cracked a bit as she wrapped up her response: “Every day I wake up, and I choose to be who I am because of him. And I hope that I make him proud.”
In the crucial final round, the remaining five delegates were asked how they can illustrate “how embracing diversity can positively impact society.”
Leyba responded: “No matter where we come from, no matter what we look like, no matter what our uniqueness is, embracing each other’s differences is what’s gonna make us unite together. Because once we accept that we are all different, then we can accept that we are all one.”
The Miss Asia Pacific International pageant has pushed for embracing inclusivity since returning from a decade-long hiatus in 2016, with its campaign “beauty in diversity.” This year’s theme is “celebrate every hue.”
Leyba received the title from Spanish queen Chaiyenne Huisman, who held on the crown for five years since winning it in the previous staging of the international pageant in 2019 in the same theater.
The new queen’s court is also composed of a diverse set of ladies. Mexico’s Karen Sofia Nunez finished second, with Belgian beauty Selena Ali in third.
Third runner-up Blessa Figueroa from the Philippines is the lone Asian in the circle of winners, while Germany’s Jennifer Prokop finished as fourth runner-up.
“Thank you, guys, for supporting me. I hope I made you all proud, and it only goes up from here,” Leyba declared after clinching the crown.