Hail, Emma Tiglao, CJ Opiaza — PH’s newest back-to-back queens
Emma Tiglao‘s victory at the recently-concluded Miss Grand International pageant made history for marking the first back-to-back in the global tilt, succeeding Christine Juliane “CJ” Opiaza. And they join an illustrious list of Filipino queens who also scored double victories.
The Philippines’ triumphant two-in-a-row coronation at the Miss Grand International pageant’s grand finale in Bangkok, Thailand, on Oct. 18 was reminiscent of the country’s record at the Miss Asia Pacific contest (now called Miss Asia Pacific International).
Opiaza was the first Filipino woman to receive the “golden crown,” after more than a decade of growing impatience from Filipino fans, the same way that Maria del Carmen Ines “Carines” Zaragoza posted the Philippines’ first Miss Asia Pacific win after waiting for 16 long years.
And while Opiaza was hailed queen in neighboring Thailand, Zaragoza’s triumphant coronation took place in Malaysia, also in Southeast Asia.
Also like Opiaza, who was succeeded by a fellow Filipino titleholder in Tiglao, Zaragoza’s successor was also from the Philippines, Gloria “Bong” Dimayacyac.
Malaysia bore witness to another historic back-to-back from the Philippines at the Kuala Lumpur-based Miss Tourism International pageant.
Angeli Dione Gomez inherited the crown in 2013 from her fellow Cebuana queen, the late Rizzini Alexis Gomez, who won the year before.
But the Gomezes’ consecutive victories were not the first for the Miss Tourism International pageant. Poland was the first to mark that feat in 1998 and 1999.
In the homegrown Miss Earth pageant, the Philippines also holds the distinct honor of posting two consecutive wins, courtesy of Jamie Herrell in 2014 and Angelia Ong in 2015.
But Tiglao had already attempted a back-to-back for the Philippines earlier, and tried to inherit the Miss Intercontinental crown in 2019 from Karen Gallman, the first Filipino woman to hold the title.
And while her attempt fell short that time, finishing only in the Top 20, she got her vindication six years later at the Miss Grand International pageant and has etched her spot in international pageant history. /edv
