In Conversation With the 60th Binibining Pilipinas Queens

Beauty lies beyond the crown—a catchphrase that shines through the queens who emerged victorious in the prestigious stage of Binibining Pilipinas 2024. In its diamond year, a stunning quartet of women have etched their names into the storied legacy of Filipina beauty with grace, resilience, and grit. Abra’s Myrna Esguerra clinched the title of Bb. Pilipinas International 2024 while Jasmin Bungay of Pampanga added another feather to its cap as the Bb. Pilipinas Globe 2024. Alongside the top winners are Christal Dela Cruz as 1st Runner-Up and Trisha Martinez as the 2nd Runner-Up.

Still awash in the surreal experience, the queens expressed the same sentiment on life since the coronation night. “Everything’s just been so great,” Myrna shared, summing up the media rounds and the new responsibilities and prospects that came with their titles.

The crowning moment sure stood out, but they treasured the intimate and unguarded moments of waiting—where friendships blossomed, personal stories were shared, and even impromptu sing-alongs took place—the most. These long hours between rehearsals and events have opened the door for them to connect on a deeper level. “That is the time where we get to bond with each other, we get to know another story that can influence us,” Christal recalled. “We get to have our kulit outs ’cause no one’s looking and we can just be ourselves.”

Taking a rollback on their journey comes not just the ones captured in the limelight but also the not-so-queenly bits and trips. One onstage chaos was when the ladies had their desperate attempt to share a single bottle of water while waiting for the airing of the big night. “We were all so parched, so thirsty, so the staff gave us one bottle of water and then we had to share drinks with that one bottle of water,” Jasmin laughingly recounted as they ignored the staff’s warnings about going viral. After all, it’s the sisterhood that bloomed that the queens hold dear.

As they continue to sit down for an exclusive interview with Metro.Style, it’s crystal clear that these women are more than what meets the eye. The reigning queens of Binibining Pilipinas have laid bare what it truly means to wear the crown as they opened up about their experiences, the challenges they overcame, and the causes they champion—ranging from standing up to environmental sustainability, supporting the OFW community, empowering persons with disabilities, to advocating dental health.

What’s something you learned from joining Binibining Pilipinas?

MYRNA: “For me, in Binibining Pilipinas, I’ve learned to give more and love more. Not only with my Binibining Pilipinas sisters, but also to the children under World Vision Philippines. You know, I think that’s really important that we get to share what we have and we get to give more to the people who are in need, so that’s really one thing about Binibining Pilipinas that I think is so beautiful.”

CHRISTAL: “I think we have opened our eyes now that pageantry [is] more than just the glitz and glam. For us, beauty queens, it’s also about self-discovery. We get to know more about ourselves and in that way, we get to inspire more people. So that’s just so amazing.” 

If you could change something about your performance during the coronation night, what would it be?

CHRISTAL: “This is the only thing that I want to change during my performance because I really love everything that I do there. I feel myself there, but that one moment—the evening gown [part] ’cause I didn’t have earrings. Yeah, I wanted to have my earrings. But I’m so grateful because before I entered the stage, the actual stage, I really prayed that whatever happened backstage (because we get to have so little time, right? So quick change lang talaga). Sa backstage, I was really praying na 'It’s okay, God. I hope You still give me the strength. Even without the earrings and a broken gown, I can still flaunt my way through this.'”

TRISHA: “Ako, my introduction. Pumiyok kasi ako. Kasi when you’re on that stage, you can’t hear anything. It’s so loud and I can’t hear myself, so nilakasan ko talaga ’yung boses ko, pumiyok ako. So I think if I could be given the chance to change something, it would be to modulate my voice.”

Who’s a Bb. Pilipinas queen you look up to the most and why?

MYRNA: “There’s a lot, no? But for me, it’s Catriona Gray. I really think that she sets the bar so high in representing our country. And I really just looked up to her kasi she set the standard sa mga beauty queens na you shouldn’t be just following orders, but you should go up there, go out there, and do the thing that you love and that you want to do as a person. So I think that’s really important as beauty queens to have your own voice and to actually act your own voice.”

JASMIN: “It’s the same for me. I idolize Pia Wurtzbach and Catriona Gray because they really proved that women are multi-faceted. That even after winning the pageant, you still get to do a lot of things, you still get to have victories that are at par with winning the crowns for the Philippines. So that’s what I [also] want to be like in the future. I just don’t want this to be my peak. I can have peaks after this, and I can celebrate those wins as I would that crowning moment.”

If you could have dinner with a well-known personality (dead or alive), who would you pick and what would you like to talk about with that person?

TRISHA: “Ako kasi, it will always be Oprah Winfrey. I want to have a conversation with her; she’s a conversationalist. Kwentuhan lang naman. Casual dinner lang, you know, get some tips on how she was able to convey messages and inspire people.”

CHRISTAL: “For me, I think it would be Audrey Hepburn. Actually, my preliminary gown is inspired by her. If you saw my preliminary gown, it’s pink, right? And it has like a shawl here. It’s inspired by her because I really admire her. She’s the epitome of classic beauty yet sophistication and also, she inspires a lot of women.”

MYRNA: “It’s Miriam Defensor Santiago. I really love her. If I could have dinner with her, I would ask her about the things that she planned to do here in the Philippines pa especially sa mga nararanasan natin ngayon na natural calamities. You know, I’ve learned through her that it’s important for us to be proactive rather than reactive, so I think that if she’s still here, that will be a very meaningful conversation to have.”

JASMIN: “I would probably want to have dinner with Vice Ganda. The icon of the LGBTQIA+ community! I believe that she’s the most influential celebrity we have at the moment and she’s part of the LGBTQIA+ community, so I think that says a lot of things about the community today—about how we are perceiving them and I would like also to know her take on the recent issue with misgendering a transgender woman. That would be very insightful.”

What’s the most challenging thing you’ve ever had to deal with so far in your life?

MYRNA: “I think the most challenging thing that I’ve experienced in my life is to do things all at once. You know I’m a student. I’m also working. I’m a model. I’m a host. I’m an event coordinator. I’m a daughter. I’m a sister. I’m a friend also. So I think it’s really hard but I’m just so grateful that I have all these people around me who are very supportive and will really push me to continue no matter what happens. [It’s] really important to have people around you that support you talaga genuinely and who [have] pure intentions towards you. [Those people] really inspired me to keep on moving forward no matter what happens.”

TRISHA: “Well, I think my life is an open book in terms of pageantry. Again, I have been subjected to body criticism. It saddens me, it breaks my heart because when we see a beauty queen who’s on the heavier side... What we see, what we saw on this earth, in this universe, we do appreciate them, we applaud them, but when it comes to me, parang double standards, no? So, it really breaks my heart to get these comments that I am too big for a pageant. But you know what, I think pageantry is all about representing diversity, being different, and being able to serve as an inspiration to younger girls who have different types. So, I think it’s very important to have a representation.”

What makes pageants relevant to this day?

JASMIN: “Well for me, I think it’s the ability of the pageant world to adapt to the changing times. We’ve seen a lot of progress in terms of pageantry and we are welcoming all of those changes. I think it’s still relevant because it’s a platform not just for ladies like us who want to be a beauty queen but also a stage for creatives, for hair and makeup artists, for designers, for costume makers to be able to stage their talents, their skills, their crafts. It’s also a celebration of our culture, of our heritage because we get to show what we have back in our provinces and we get to parade in the international arena what the Philippines has to offer. In pageantry also, we talk about social issues; we get to use the platform for bigger causes, for advocacies. [As long as] there are issues that we believe we can be part of the solution and we can use our voices to rally people towards the solution, I think pageants will continue to be relevant, especially in a country that’s very big on pageants.”

What advocacies are you currently part of that you wish to spread more awareness on with the help of your platform as a Binibining Pilipinas queen?

CHRISTAL: “I am an advocate for persons with disabilities. [It’s] the advocacy I started around six years ago because someone very dear to me has an impairment and I have seen how she struggled to cope with it. And we cannot deny that in our society, we keep on fighting for inclusivity but we are not making an action [to actually make] it happen. Being inclusive for everybody, so as we have this platform of pageantry, I get to share my advocacy [with] the people and it’s so amazing that I get to touch more lives of persons with disabilities, and I will continue to do it with or without crown.”

MYRNA: “As for me, I’ve been working with National Coalition Philippines and Suit for Com Philippines since 2021. It’s an organization that aims to do clean-up projects here in the Philippines. I think it’s really important for us to focus on our environment right now, especially during what happened during the dry season here in the Philippines where we’ve experienced an extreme heat index, right? And now that we are entering the wet season here in the Philippines, after the typhoon Carina, after the drainage of the water here in Metro Manila, ’yung mga basura naman ang naging problema natin and I think that’s really sad, you know. I think we should do something about it and as an advocate for environmental sustainability and preservation, I think that it’s important for us to preserve what’s around us, especially our homes because there are a lot of children who are still dreaming and they can’t make those dreams their realities if there’s no future for them, right? So, I think we should preserve it not only for the future generation but the current generation as well.”

JASMIN: “As an OFW myself, of course, I advocate for the OFW community. We have a very big impact on the GDP [gross domestic product] and the economy of our country and I think it’s the responsibility of the government to give back to them by making sure that they’re well supported wherever they are in the world.”

TRISHA: “I chose my advocacy when I decided to become a dentist. When I was a teenager, one of my insecurities, [my] greatest insecurity is my smile. So, when I had my braces on, had them fixed, I was empowered. By simply fixing a person’s smile, [that] can give empowerment, so I decided to give that same empowerment that I felt way back secret years ago.”

What do you hope to achieve as one of this year’s Binibining Pilipinas queens?

MYRNA: “Of course, to give a crown, another crown to the Philippines.”

JASMIN: “And add to the roster of the international crowns of the Binibing Pilipinas. But more than that, [as] Binibing Pilipinas this year has partnered with World Vision, we wish to really help children in partnership with the organization and [reach] as much as many children as possible all over the Philippines and help them achieve their dreams.”

What do you consider your greatest strength?

CHRISTAL: “Since in this edition, I’m the youngest, it will be my perseverance despite the circumstances that I’m in. I’m a student and I’m a daughter. I’m a breadwinner in my family actually, so it’s really hard. But then if you really have the perseverance to continue, if you have the drive and the purpose, then you can still keep on moving forward. That’s why, for me, my greatest strength will always be my story and my perseverance.”

MYRNA: “It’s my experiences in life. Well, I have experienced a very challenging childhood until now that I’m a college student, it’s been hard but those experiences that I had in my life really contributed to who I am now as a person. [Those experiences] made me strong, [they] made me believe that there is hope no matter what happens. Even if you’re in the darkest moments of your career or of your life, there is always hope, and as much as you believe that there is, it will happen. So just have to keep believing.”

JASMIN: “I think it’s going to be my grit. Since I was a child, as a teenager, we also struggled, I mean as a family. But I think it’s my grit that I banked on. That’s why I was able to get free tuition when I was in college and graduate with flying colors. It’s my grit that made me go abroad to work and it’s my grit that enabled me to leave everything behind in Dubai to pursue [Binibining Pilipinas] and it’s my grit that made me win a crown.”

TRISHA: “I think for me, it would have to be managing my time very effectively. I’m a dentist and also I think one of my strengths is to create a team. I left a team. I created a team in my dental clinic. I created a glam team that works and complements each other very well. So, I think those are [some] of my strengths.”

What are you most proud of as a Filipina?

JASMIN: “What I am most proud of [is] the Filipina heart. I mean, as an OFW, and statistically knowing that there are more overseas Filipino women than men, that says a lot about the heart of a Filipina. And it’s not a generalization but most of the people that I met in Dubai are single parents, so it’s heartbreaking that they have to leave their [families] behind, their children behind to work abroad, but it’s the heart of the Filipinas for their family. So, it’s really something that I also want to imbibe as a Filipino woman, to have that big of a heart for my family and to do whatever it takes for my family to give them a better life.”

TRISHA: “What I am most proud of as a Filipina is [our] courage. We are not afraid anymore. We are not afraid to choose the path that we want regardless of gender. We are not afraid to take up the space that we deserve in society. So, I think nakaka-proud ’yun.”

MYRNA: “For me, it’s how we love as a Filipina. Growing up, I witness my mom raising all of us, 13 of her children alone because my mom is a single mother. And then it’s really heartbreaking to watch her do that, you know, because I think no one deserves to experience or to go through that experience but life gives us situations that we will be able to conquer. That’s one thing about life and that made me realize how strong my mother is, and I’ve learned so much from her. And with that, it’s very beautiful how a mother can love and can give so much love for her children. That’s why I’m very proud of my mother and I really love that she was able to do those things for us, for her children. So, I think it’s really wonderful and I’m so proud that a Filipino woman can love that much.”

CHRISTAL: “A Filipina woman is with color and bravery. That’s what we are. I think it started way way back from our ancestor Gabriela Silang who raised our flag confidently as a woman. She had fought for our rights and it [got] passed on and we get to be inspired by her. And every woman has a story to tell and they keep on bringing it. And that in every shadow, there will always be a light and we will always find it because that’s what we are. We are brave and we are women.”

Looking past their titles, Myrna Esguerra, Jasmin Bungay, Christal Dela Cruz, and Trisha Martinez are queens who are determined to make a difference. As they come out of their authentic selves, it becomes evident that it’s their timeless stories to tell, their advocacies to champion, and their courage as Filipina women that will always stay true with Binibining Pilipinas’ “beauty ever after” mantra. 

Photography by Stephen Capuchino

Produced by Geolette Esguerra, Jose Mari Santiago, and Kate Paras-Santiago

Hair and makeup: Adrian Antonio of Lourd Ramos Salon

Text by Leigh Sofia Lazo

Shot on location at Lanson Place Manila

Special thanks to Rochelle Tabino