(By ROMMEL GONZALES)
Bago ihayag ang winner ay marami ang naniniwala na si Ahtisa Manalo ng Pilipinas ang deserving na magwaging Miss International 2018.
Pero ang nanalo ay ang kandidata ng Venezuela na si Mariem Velazco. Kahit napakaganda at mahusay ang sagot sa interview ay first runner-up lamang si Ahtisa.
Nagkataong birthday ni Miss Venezuela noong gabi ng pageant last November 9. Kaya biro kay Ahtisa, kung nagkataong birthday niya noong gabi ng pageant ay baka siya ang nagwagi.
“It’s her destiny!” ang natatawang sagot ni Ahtisa
“Maybe that will have a big impact if it’s my birthday, pero hindi natin alam. It’s her destiny.
“Maybe my destiny is different so if it’s for you, it’s really for you, so it’s for Venezuela that night!”
Pero marami talaga ang nagsasabi na si Ahtisa dapat talaga ang nanalo.
“We all have different perceptions and we all have different opinions and judgments.
“The sad thing is I hope those people who said that I should have won are judges, but the sad thing is they’re not, so it’s really the judges’ opinion pa rin, and the organization.”
Dagdag pang kuwento ni Ahtisa tungkol sa Miss International pageant na idinaos sa Tokyo, Japan:
“For me, it’s a once in a lifetime experience.
“We were treated there like royalties.
“We were given the best food, the best accommodations, the best of everything in Japan.
“I think that’s the best way to experience Japan for me and they treat us there with utmost respect and they really think that we can do something.
“We weren’t just able to meet just normal people. We were able to meet ministers. We’re able to meet leaders of the government, leaders of certain causes.
“I really feel humbled to have that experience.”
Special guest si Ahtisa sa send-off presscon para kay Jeff Langan ng Empire.PH; si Jeff ang official candidate ng Pilipinas sa Manhunt International 2018 sa December 2, 2018 sa Goldcoast, Australia.
Samantala, ayon sa manager ni Ahtisa at head ng Empire.PH na si Jonas Gaffud, papasok sa showbiz si Ahtisa.
Si Jonas rin ang manager ni Pia Wurtzbach.
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