Maria Gigante/Photo from Maria Gigante’s Facebook page
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Model and beauty queen Maria Gigante is taking a pause from pageantry this year, which means that she will not be one of the crown aspirants for Binibining Pilipinas 2019.
Gigante, 25, said she will continue with her hosting and modelling projects but this year, 2019, most of her time will be dedicated to studying and completing her degree in Philosopy at the University of San Carlos (USC), where she is a senior.
“My plan for now is to focus on one thing at a time; studies first, fitness next! Hopefully, someday, my time will come again,” she told CDN Digital.
Gigante, who hails from the town of Sta. Fe on Bantayan Island, pressed the pause button on her studies from late 2015 to early 2017 when she joined Binibining Pilipinas 2016.
“I did it only to pursue Binibining Pilipinas because the pageant schedules required me to live in Manila, and didn’t leave enough gaps to come home to study,” she said.
Gigante said she took it as an opportunity to focus on the competition, even if it was not the ideal choice for her.
In October 2017, Gigante joined the first Bininibing Cebu pageant where she earned the title Binibining Cebu Charity or the third in rank. Her co-alumna from Binibining Pilipinas 2016, Apriel Smith, was crowned as the winner. Her fellow model, Samantha Lo, was declared as Binibining Cebu Tourism.
The pageant spotlight was on the three women at the turn of new year, 2019, as fans eagerly await their announcement for their participation in the national pageant. Lo earlier confirmed that she is training for Binibining Pilipinas 2019 while Smith said she is not joining the pageant this year. Cebuana beauty queens, Ilene de Vera and Neesha Murjani, have also announced intentions to join Binibining Pilipinas.
Gigante said she will be cheering on them as they compete this year. “For now I’m going to be a member of the audience, a cheerleader for my Cebuana sisters,” she said.
Gigante said she is scheduled to graduate this year. This is why she believes that 2019 is the appropriate time to momentarily rest from pageantry and focus on completing her degree.
Asked what her plans after graduation, Gigante said: “I’d like to keep that a surprise.”
READ Maria Gigante: Passion and Pursuit