DHAKA: A Philippine beauty queen has been crowned Miss International in a pageant marred by allegations of intimidation that kept her predecessor away, pledging to use her title to help victims of the country’s devastating typhoon.

‘This is my dream. Thank you Japan for giving it to me,’ an ecstatic Bea Rose Santiago said at the event, held late Tuesday in Tokyo, reports thenewage.co.za.

‘I’m going to use my crown and my title to help the victims’ of Super Typhoon Haiyan, which raked the Philippines last month, leaving nearly 8,000 people dead or missing.

‘So this is actually for my province, and this is for the Philippines.’
 
Santiago was selected from among 67 candidates representing countries and regions of the world.

In a break with pageant custom, she was crowned by Spain’s 2008 Miss International and not by her immediate predecessor, who stayed away from the glitzy show.

‘I really wanted to meet her,’ the new beauty queen said.

‘It was very unfortunate because I really wanted to meet last year’s winner also.’

Outgoing title-holder Japanese Ikumi Yoshimatsu told foreign journalists this week in Tokyo that she had been asked by organisers to stay away from the final.

BDST: 1611 HRS, DEC 18, 2013
Edited by Robab Rosan, Current Affairs Editor