Who will be the next Binibining Pilipinas queens? | Photo from Binibining Pilipinas Facebook page
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The search for the next Binibining Pilipinas 2020 queens has been announced and pageant fans have several questions about the poster that came with the announcement.
The accompanying poster had photos of Binibining Pilipinas International 2019 Bea Patricia” Patch” Magtanong; Miss Globe 2019 second runner-up and Binibining Pilipinas Globe 2019 Leren Mae Bautista; Binibining Pilipinas Intercontinental Emma Tiglao; Binibining Pilipinas Supranational 2019 Resham Ramirez Saeed; and Binibining Pilipinas 2019 1st runner-up Maria Andrea “Aya” Abesamis.
READ: Binibining Pilipinas announces search for 2020 queens
Samantha Ashley Lo, who was crowned the Binibing Pilipinas Grand International 2019 during the 2019 national pageant, is not in the photo after she relinquished her title.
BPCI never made a formal announcement about Lo’s resignation.
Fans only learned about it from Lo who shared a photo of herself on November 26 with the caption: “She took off the crown and thanked it for everything. Left so she could live. Miss Grand Philippines 2019 officially signing off. Maraming salamat Pilipinas. Now I’m off to my new path. ”
Screenshot of Samantha Ashley Lo’s November 26 Instagram post
Pageant fans also asked why Samantha Bernardo, who won as second runner-up, was not in the photo.
Comments came in from various individuals with many saying that Bernardo is not a crowned queen, which explains the reason why she is not in the poster.
But what about Aya Abesamis, who was first runner-up at the June 2019 national pageant?
Pageant enthusiasts say BPCI may have awarded Abesamis the Miss Grand Philippines title after Lo’s resignation.
BPCI has not confirmed this yet but if this is true, this means that BPCI did not let go of the Miss Grand International (MGI) franchise, which is unpopular among Filipino fans because of what is believed as apparent bias by MGI president Nawat Itsaragrisil against Filipino beauty queens.
If Abesamis is now Miss Grand Philippines, then Binibining Pilipinas 2020 will have six crowns up for grabs in which Binibining Pilipinas International is the only one of the Big 4 titles which include Miss Universe, Miss World, and Miss Earth.
The plot thickens.