Grace Libero

10 Things About Miss Grand Philippines 2025 Emma Mary Tiglao

Article (news)

<div style="text-align:center"><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:959px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1756087591599539247548_18524729212046113_4934608971610315680_n.jpg" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner">Miss Grand Philippines 2025 Emma Mary Tiglao, wearing a creation by Rian Fernandez | Photo by @philip.viktor</span></span></span></div><div><br/></div><p>&quot;If you still can, why not?&quot; That was what <strong>Miss Grand Philippines 2025 </strong><strong>Emma Mary Tiglao </strong>answered <strong></strong>during the pageant&#x27;s press conference when she was asked why she joined the competition even though she already held another title in 2019.   </p><p>Last June, Miss Grand International officially announced a new age limit (18 to 35), and this 30-year-old beauty queen from Pampanga saw that as a sign to enter the door of pageantry again. &quot;<em>Pasok pa pala</em>! <em>P&#x27;wede pa makipagpuksaan,</em>&quot; she said in jest, adding that since she considers pageantry as her home, this foray was like &quot;coming back to my home.&quot; &quot;I think this stage is the right stage to come home to,&quot; Emma Mary Tiglao remarked. </p><p>And because she was at home on this stage, her beauty, confidence, and eloquence shone through, and she was eventually crowned Miss Grand Philippines 2025 during the coronation night held on August 24, 2025 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena. Emma also won major awards, including Best in Evening Gown, Best in Swimsuit, and Miss Photogenic, as well as 13 sponsor awards. Crowned by <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/metro-style/people/2025/6/4/10-things-about-newly-crowned-miss-grand-international-2024-cj-opiaza-2301" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Miss Grand International 2024 <strong>CJ Opiaza</strong></a>, Emma will represent the Philippines in the Miss Grand International 2025 pageant to be held on October 18, 2025 in Bangkok, Thailand. </p><p>Joining Emma in the roster of newly crowned queens are Miss Asia Pacific Philippines 2025 <strong>Anita Rose Gomez</strong> from Zambales, Reina Hispanoamericana Filipinas 2025<strong> Francesca Beatriz McLelland</strong> from Aklan, Miss Tourism World Philippines 2025 <strong>Michelle Arceo </strong>from Taguig, and Face of Beauty Philippines 2025 <strong>Nikhisah Buenafe Cheveh </strong>of Quezon City, with Bicol Region&#x27;s <strong>Margarette Briton </strong>as 1st Runner-Up and Rizal&#x27;s <strong>Beatriz Angela Ocampo</strong> as 2nd Runner-Up.</p><div><br/></div><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-0" src="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DNwDNCtZtqA/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=810&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A0%2C%22os%22%3A7472659.699999988%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="881" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-0" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div><br/></div><p>At the coronation night, she received overwhelming cheers from her fans, who believed she was ready for the crown. During the much-awaited Q&amp;A segment, the question Emma was asked was: &quot;If peace were packaged like a product, how would you convince world leaders to buy it?&quot; She replied, &quot;I would convince world leaders to see it as a quality, not as a quantity. What I mean is that the quality of us having constant dialogue with each other. It&#x27;s not about the quantity or the time we need to prepare or we need to talk with each other, but it&#x27;s the constant dialogue. Because if we will (sic) do that, we will eradicate disparities between (sic) the opportunities we can get. And also, we cannot grow the division between people in terms of politics, in terms of power, and in terms of properties. So I hope that they will look at it in quality instead of quantity.&quot;</p><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:700px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1756088893379536913378_17996150975813551_5232424484461349131_n.jpg" style="width:700px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner">Photo from @msgrandphilippines</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align:center"><br/></div><div><strong>Get to know Miss Grand Philippines 2025 Emma Mary Tiglao better through these fun facts and trivia:</strong></div><div><br/></div><div><strong></strong><strong></strong></div><div><strong>She was born on Immaculate Conception Day</strong><strong>.</strong></div><div><strong></strong></div><p>The newly crowned queen was born on December 8, 1994. And because her birthday coincided with the said feast day, she was named Emma Mary. </p><div><br/></div><div><strong>She&#x27;s the youngest in a brood of four girls.</strong></div><p><strong></strong>&quot;<em>Apat na Maria,</em>&quot; as Emma put it. On her YouTube channel, she gave a glimpse into her family life, sharing, &quot;<em>Lumaki po ako sa </em>family, <em>sa</em> environment <em>na hindi lahat ng gusto ko</em>,<em> lahat ng luho ibibigay</em>. <em>Du&#x27;n ko natutunan na kung ano &#x27;yung nasa harap mo</em>, <em>maging masaya ka</em>, <em>maging</em> grateful <em>ka</em>.&quot; </p><div><br/></div><div style="text-align:center"><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:700px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1756090091665get to know miss grand philippines 2025 emma mary tiglao A.jpg" style="width:700px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner">Photo by @philip.viktor</span></span></span></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>She&#x27;s a pageant pro.</strong></div><p><strong></strong>Emma is popularly known as the Bb. Pilipinas Intercontinental 2019. She represented the Philippines at the Miss Intercontinental 2019 in Egypt and finished as a top 20 semifinalist. Emma got started with pageantry early at 13, when she first joined a school pageant. A year after that, she started participating in local pageants. Her first national pageant was Mutya ng Pilipinas 2012, when she was 17; she finished the competition as 1st Runner-Up. She first joined Binibining Pilipinas in 2014, and the following year, she participated in Miss World Philippines 2015.</p><p>Reflecting on why she joins pageants, Emma said on a Net25 show, &quot;We want a bigger platform. I want to be heard and seen <em>kasi gusto ko mas maraming tao &#x27;yung tumulong at ma</em>-inspire<em> lalo na sa </em>advocacy <em>ko</em> with the kids and the PDLs (persons deprived of liberty). <em>Du&#x27;n mas lumawak ang </em>audience <em>ko</em>, <em>mas naging</em> wider <em>ang</em> audience <em>ko</em>, <em>at mas masarap tumulong kapag marami kang nahihilang tao </em>with you.&quot;</p><p>Her biggest learning from being a beauty queen? &quot;You need to have a strong core. <em>Dapat &#x27;yung </em>foundation <em>mo</em>, <em>matibay</em>, and<em> &#x27;yun &#x27;yung sinasabi ko na</em> &#x27;why.&#x27; <em>&#x27;Pag alam mo &#x27;yung</em> why <em>mo</em>, <em>alam mo &#x27;yung </em>reason <em>bakit mo ginagawa &#x27;yung ginagawa mo ngayon</em>. <em>Kasi &#x27;pag alam mo &#x27;yung sagot d&#x27;yan</em>,<em> hindi ka mapapagod.</em> I mean, <em>mapapagod ka pero</em> you will not give up e<em>.</em> <em>Magpapahinga ka</em>, <em>at &#x27;yun &#x27;yung magiging</em> inspiration <em>mo</em>.&quot; </p><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:700px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1756091188541get to know miss grand philippines 2025 emma mary tiglao B.jpg" style="width:700px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner">Photo by @philip.viktor</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align:left"><br/></div><div><strong>She was an OFW.</strong></div><p><strong></strong>Emma was hired as an ambassador for a well-known hotel in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. She worked there for 17 months, and the experience taught her many lessons, such as communicating with different people from various places and walks of life. She also felt that part of her life taught her to be more responsible as a person, as a daughter, and as a friend. </p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1X2SNBoz_Q" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">In a vlog</a>, she shared, &quot;&#x27;<em>Pag kasi</em> OFW <em>ka tapos malayo ka sa</em> family <em>mo</em>, <em>nakakalungkot din</em>, but then you should be thinking, &#x27;Why are you doing that thing?&#x27; &#x27;Why are you working, and why did you choose to be far from your family?&#x27; <em>Ako kasi,</em> <em>pinili ko kasi</em> aside from <em>sa makakaipon ako </em>on my own, I can also help my family. That was my way of giving back to them.&quot;<strong></strong><br/></p><div><br/></div><div><strong>She would&#x27;ve been a teacher had she not pursued pageantry. </strong></div><p><strong></strong>An eloquent speaker who&#x27;s passionate about talking in front of others and communicating her thoughts, Emma shared in a Net25 show that an alternate career she could imagine herself in is being a teacher or a professor. </p><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:700px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1756092853531get to know miss grand philippines 2025 emma mary tiglao C.jpg" style="width:700px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner">Photo by @philip.viktor</span></span></span></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>She invested in honing her communication skills.</strong></div><p><strong></strong>Emma dedicated money, time, and effort to improve her communication skills. Beauty queens often get bashed or criticized for the way they speak or answer questions, but even so, those comments were not the primary reason she decided to take up public speaking and communication skill courses at the world-famous Dale Carnegie training center. </p><p>&quot;That was my weakest point when I joined Binibini and Miss World. <em>Ang hirap na bina-</em>bash<em> ka ng mga tao</em> without them knowing the real you... What I did was I really improved myself. <em>Gusto kong patunayan sa sarili ko</em>, <em>hindi sa mga tao</em>. <em>&#x27;Yun ang tandaan niyo</em>, <em>&#x27;wag na &#x27;wag niyo papatunayan sa ibang tao</em>. Don&#x27;t work hard to improve yourself just because of them. Improve yourself because you want to improve by yourself.&quot;</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>She&#x27;s a news anchor.</strong></div><p>Outside of pageantry, Emma works as a TV presenter and an events host. During Miss Grand Philippines 2025&#x27;s speech segment, Pampanga&#x27;s representative said, &quot;I have reported the world suffer—wars destroying homes, violence stealing dreams, and calamities taking lives. Yet through every heartbreaking story, an ounce of hope has always remained in my heart. These stories taught me one truth: that my voice has a purpose beyond the newsroom. Now, listen closely to the beat of my heart. In every heart that there is to believe, I dream of a time when I will no longer speak of pain but of peace, when my stories will no longer echo fear but harmony, unity, and love. A world without war is not just a dream, it is a decision, and that decision begins with us, right here, right now.&quot;</p><div><br/></div><div style="text-align:center"><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:700px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1756094933008538899318_17996165573813551_107051431985674900_n.jpg" style="width:700px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner">Photo from @msgrandphilippines</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align:center"><br/></div><div><strong>She&#x27;s an entrepreneur.</strong></div><p>Emma co-owns a coffee shop called Lilim, located in Angeles, Pampanga. When they were starting Lilim last year, Emma said she experienced being a &quot;<em>barista</em>, cashier, <em>sa</em> kitchen, <em>naglilinis</em>.&quot; &quot;<em>Lahat &#x27;yan ginawa namin</em>, <em>pinagdaanan namin lahat &#x27;yan</em>,&quot; she shared. </p><div><br/></div><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-2" src="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DL1AgGKBpu6/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=810&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A2%2C%22os%22%3A12605466.099999964%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="881" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-2" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div><br/></div><div><strong>She loves traveling.</strong></div><p>This is why she took up and finished a college degree in Tourism. According to Emma, traveling helped her &quot;discover and appreciate the diverse cultures around the world,&quot; ultimately allowing her to expand her horizons.  </p><div><em></em><em></em></div><div><br/></div><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-4" src="https://www.instagram.com/p/DFt4hIlMmmo/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=810&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A4%2C%22os%22%3A13174855.300000012%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="881" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-4" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div><br/></div><div><strong>She has a YouTube channel.</strong></div><p><strong></strong>Although she isn&#x27;t active on the platform anymore, Emma showed her different facets through her YouTube channel, which she started about seven years ago. One of her earlier vlogs featured her speech at the Arab Youth International Model United Nations, where she shared four lessons she holds dearly: &quot;fear, rejection, persistence, purpose.&quot;</p><p>She described fear as a state of mind where &quot;we doubt our capabilities and self-worth.&quot; She advised the audience to embrace and conquer their fear, saying, &quot;Change fear to curiosity.&quot;</p><p>&quot;I learned that rejection, although hurtful, can be a guiding light if you look at it from a positive perspective. Rejection is redirection of your life,&quot; Emma declared. </p><p>Emma also emphasized that perseverance is key. &quot;You have to be patient with yourself. Everything great takes time, and that being impatient with ourselves will only set us back. So, the best thing to do is to take a break and breathe.&quot; </p><p>Lastly, the beauty queen talked about the significance of finding one&#x27;s purpose. &quot;Finding your purpose in life is not easy. It&#x27;s a process full of challenges and struggles. You need to find what gives meaning to your life,&quot; Emma remarked, emphasizing the importance of determining one&#x27;s &quot;why&quot;—&quot;Why are you doing what you&#x27;re doing?&quot;  </p><div><br/></div><div style="text-align:center"><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:700px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1756096515307515729747_18520224835061264_4794941527919677238_n.jpg" style="width:700px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner">Photo by @feliciano.mj</span></span></span></div><div><br/></div><p>Lead photos from <strong>@msgrandphilippines @crownandconceptco25</strong></p>

<p>"If you still can, why not?" Pampanga's Emma Mary Tiglao made a grand comeback at the <i>Miss Grand Philippines 2025, showing the beauty of chasing one's dreams. </i>"I think this stage is the right stage to come home to," she remarked.</p>

"If you still can, why not?" Pampanga's Emma Mary Tiglao made a grand comeback at the Miss Grand Philippines 2025, showing the beauty of chasing one's dreams. "I think this stage is the right stage to come home to," she remarked.