Myrna Esguerra

 A consistent winner all throughout

By Earl D.C. Bracamonte 

Like Mexico's Lupita Jones, who was a shoo-in for the 1991 Miss Universe crown, Abra's Myrna Esguerra was already poised for the Binibining Pilipinas top crown when she qualified as one of the 40 official candidates of the Diamond Year pageant edition.

"After winning Miss Abra last year, it was a deliberate decision on my part to join Binibining Pilipinas. And my dedication to win the crown was a product of me and my team from Pampanga. I planned to be running as an independent candidate.

"It helped greatly when the Aces & Queens camp embraced me as one of their trainees. They helped me a lot in my journey," revealed the recent graduate from the City Colleges of Angeles, who was taking her final exams a few days after being crowned.

She had the bearing, the body, and the brains that was necessary to grab the title.

Coming from a brood of 13, Myrna knows about the hardships in life. So much so that their father left them early after suffering from a bout with cancer. Now, her four other step siblings from her father's other family live with the rest of the brood in Abra.

"I'm sending a child to school from a portion of my prize money. This is in relation to the BPCI advocacy for the children under the care of the World Vision Foundation. The other grownups in our family are living their own independent lives. I still remember celebrating my older brother's birthday on the the day of our father's funeral," Ems reminisced. Ems is the nickname her friends call her.

This early, fans and supporters are excited for her foray into the international arena. And knowing how committed she is, in whatever endeavor she sets her heart into, we know that she'll be reaping accolades for the country.

"When I join pageants, I focus on myself most of the time. I learned before that if you watch the move of others, you'll be out of focus and out of the game! Who you were and your purpose before winning is a bigger reason than the prize you'll eventually receive. Honestly, I was not aware that they changed the prize money from P 400,000 to P 1-million!" Ems intimated at the close of our colloquy.