MGI aftermath

SamPan heartbroken from MGI experience but said it's not the end of her pageant journey

By Earl D.C. Bracamonte

After the Top 20 semifinalists were announced in the recently-concluded Miss Grand International final show, pageant fans were shocked that Binibining Pilipinas Grand International 2021 Samantha Alexandra Panlilio did not qualify for a placement.

The beautiful maiden from Cavite said, in her social media accounts, that she was heartbroken but her pageant journey is far from over. She thanked BPCI, her camp, Kagandahang Flores, and all Filipino fans who supported her all throughout the competition.

To answer the many allegations on SamPan's non-placement, MGI president Nawat Itsaragrisil resorted to social media. Instead of stating the reason(s) in English for many netizens to understand, he, instead, delivered his arguments in Thai. However, a lot of pageant fans translated what he said.

In his message, Mr. Nawat pointed out that if a contestant lacks one of the B's - beauty, body, and brain - then she forfeits her chance to be in the Top 20. It's short of saying that SamPan did not possess all three requisites. Now, pageant enthusiasts are reviewing all segments of the competition if, indeed, the Top 20 semifinalists truly outshone SamPan in all and every aspect of the contest.

Some quarters also claim SamPan's predicament could have stem from an ill-feeling the MGI president may have for the next Filipina representative after Samantha Bernardo declined the organization's offer to work for 3 months with them, despite having Abena Appiah as winner. Sam Bernardo made a lengthy expose about this in one PInoy Big Brother episode.

In another social media post, Miss Grand International 2016 Ariska Putri Pertiwi also divulged that as judges, they were not given a free reign to choose the winners. It was only during the Top 5 final round that they were made to rate the girls. But in all other instances, it was Mr. Nawat who called the shots.

What made this entire brouhaha more interesting is the circulating rumor that BPCI won't be sending a representative to the 10th Miss Grand International edition in Jakarta next year. The grapevine went on to say that Madame Stella Araneta has spoken to Nawat Itsaragrisil about the Binibining Pilipinas severing ties from the Grand franchise.

There may be truth to this rumor mill. If you can remember, in 2013, the Binibining Pilipinas queens also made a good record internationally with Bea Santiago winning Miss International and Mutya Datul winning Miss Supranational. Ariella Arrida placed 3rd runner-up at Miss Universe while Cindy Miranda was unplaced at Miss Tourism Queen International.

It was the not-so-good report surrounding Cindy's journey with the TQI organization that made BPCI vow never to send another Binibini to that pageant system again. And that has come to pass. So, if rumors find the rings of truth soon then SamPan would be the last Binibini to grace the MGI stage.

In the Miss Grand International pageant, the Philippines had been unplaced four times: 2014 (Kimberly Karlsson), 2018 (Eva Patalinghug), 2019 (Samantha Ashley Lo), and 2021 (Samantha Alexandra Panlilio).