MANILA, Philippines – Myrna Esguerra was crowned Binibining Pilipinas International 2024 during the coronation night on Sunday, July 8, at the Araneta Coliseum in Araneta City, Quezon City.
The 22-year-old stunner from Abra bested 39 other candidates to succeed Palawan’s Angelica Lopez. Although crowned this year, Myrna will only get the chance to represent the Philippines in the Miss International pageant in 2025 as it is Angelica who will be competing in the 2024 edition.
Growing up, Myrna believed that she had the “power to make things happen.”
In her introduction video, she said she was able to learn how to drive a manual car in just three days when she was 17 years old out of sheer will. She also shared that she also was able to overcome her fear of public speaking.
This, she said, is a trait of a true Binibini Pilipinas queen: “Binibini is someone who always goes for it even though she’s scared to do it. And I believe that Binibini is me.”
As one of 17 siblings, Myrna considers herself as a family-oriented person, even listing her mother and sisters as her role models.
Aside from studying and modeling, Myrna also dabbles in event coordination and hosting. When she’s not joining local pageants, she’s either the one hosting the ceremonies. In March, she served as one of the hosts of the preliminary competition of the Miss Abra 2024 pageant.
As a beauty queen, Myrna dedicated her platform to raising awareness on environmental preservation and sustainability. She’s had experience participating in cleanup drives around the Philippines since 2022. She also works with the National Cleanup Coalition Philippines, a coalition of cleanup groups, government agencies, and local government units nationwide.
“Through Binibining Pilipinas, I want to reach as many people as I can to help take action to protect their home. Because all the things that matter to us now don’t really matter if our home, the Earth, is slowly deteriorating,” she said in her introduction video.
When announced as one of the Top 40 candidates for the 2024 edition, Myrna got candid, saying she can’t believe that a “small town girl” like her would be part of the country’s biggest pageant. “I’m here to remind you that dreams do come true,” she said.
Throughout her stint in the Binibining Pilipinas competition, Myrna took pride in her Abrenian roots, constantly featuring stories of her hometown in her pageant performance.
Her national costume designed by Richard Strandz drew inspiration from Duluimaman, a heroine of the Tinguian people of Abra. The ensemble featured a woven gown with patterned weaves as highlight. It was one of the five winning pieces in the national costume category.
For her tourism video, she highlighted some of her hometown’s hidden gems – including the Lusuac Springs in Lagayan and Mount Bullagao, also known as the Sleeping Beauty of Abra – and famous practices, such as its thriving loom weaving industry.
And while the Binibining Pilipinas 2024 competition was her first foray in a national pageant, Myrna was one of the early standouts and frontrunners for the competition.
During the coronation night, she earned the title of this year’s “hakot” (haul) queen after sweeping five special awards apart from the crown. Aside from being one of the winners in the national costume category, her pageant performance also earned her the recognition of Best in Swimsuit and Evening Gown, as well as two more awards from sponsors.
During the question and answer portion, Myrna was asked by Miss Universe 1973 Margie Moran: “If a time machine brings you back to 1964 – 60 years ago when Binibining Pilipinas began – what message would you tell the Filipino women of that time about the women of 2024?”
Her winning answer was: “I will tell the women of the past we have achieved our goal, which is to empower women. Standing here, at the age of 17, I started to finance my own studies and help my family financially. I was able to do this by all these women who paved the way to empower us to always reach for our goals, no matter what it is. Because in life, we can always achieve our dreams, as long as we believe we can. And thanks to them all.” – Rappler.com
