THE PHILIPPINES’ bet to Miss Grand International 2016 came close to bringing home the crown with a first runner-up
finish—the highest rank a Filipina beauty queen has achieved in the international beauty tilt, held this year at the Westgate Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada on October 25 (October 26 in Manila).
Nicole Cordoves lost the title to Indonesia’s Ariska Putri Pertiwi. But she won over representatives from Thailand (second runner-up), Puerto Rico (third runner-up) and USA (fourth runner-up).
Nicole impressed the crowd with her prepared speech before the Evening Gown competition as each candidate who made it to the Top 10 was asked to speak their minds about war and violence in a global setting.
“These kids, they do not need us to win wars for them. They need us to build a world for them that will allow them to dream, to grow, to live,” Nicole said, referring to children she would spend time with as a volunteer.
She expressed her anger at the fact that women and children have to worry about bullets and bombs the moment they step out of their homes.
“I stand here tonight refusing to tell the same story,” she said. (Children) need to fight for their dreams, not for their lives,” Nicole added.
But the tables were turned in the final Question and Answer, when Nicole’s answer drew boos from the crowd after declaring that she would ask Donald Trump to stop war and violence.
“What if we actually use his voice to do good?” she argued.
Nicole’s feat was the highest rank a Filipina beauty queen has achieved at the Miss Grand International pageant. In 2013, Annalie Forbes placed third runner-up, while Parul Shah was second runner-up in 2015.
