PH is Miss Intercontinental 2018

Philippines bags first Miss Intercontinental crown 

Ricky Lo
Philippine Star
28 January 2019


MANILA, Philippines — More than a month after Catriona Gray bagged the fourth Miss Universe crown for the Philippines, Karen Gallman, 26, won the country’s first Miss Intercontinental title at the grand finals Saturday night at the Mall of Asia (MOA) Arena, beating aspirants from 82 other countries.

Karen Gallman won the judges’ nod with her answer to the Final Six question, “How do you define success?” asked by host Billy Crawford.

Karen Gallman FB Page

Gallman won the judges’ nod with her answer to the Final Six question, “How do you define success?” asked by host Billy Crawford.

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With cool confidence, Gallman said, “For me, success is not just about winning in life. It’s about setting goals, achieving your dreams, working hard for everything you want and always looking up to God and be thankful for everything.”

Former Philippine National Police and Bureau of Corrections chief Gen. Ronald dela Rosa was in the board of judges chaired by Joanna Leonisa Oquera Gimena Miyanae, CEO of Miss Intercontinental-Japan and Miss Intercontinental Events & Management.

The other judges were Hollywood actors Lorenzo Lamas and Vincent de Paul.

Gallman and Gray have many things in common. Both are half-Filipino and half-Australian. While Gray was born in Melbourne and came to the Philippines with her Filipina mother to pursue a modeling career, Gallman was born in Ubay, Bohol, where her mother Editha Boyones hails from and spent years in Brisbane where she graduated with an AB Management degree from Griffith University.

Like Gray who, even before she won 2016 Miss World Philippines and 2018 Miss Universe Philippines, had been helping a foundation that sent to school poor students in Tondo, Gallman also has the same advocacy.

Asked what position she would take in the government after winning Binibini in March last year, she told The STAR, “I would like to be with DepEd. My advocacy is to help in the education of the youth especially in the rural areas of the Philippines. I would be useful in that department.”

Her court includes Miss Costa Rica Adriana Alvarado, first runner-up; Miss Slovak Republic Laura Longauevova, second; Miss Colombia Hillary del Prado, third; Miss Vietnam Ngan Auh Le Au, fourth; and Miss Ethiopia Bella Lapso, fifth.

Since the start of the pageant 47 years ago, the Philippines has finished only as runners-up: Koreen Medina, third in 2013; Kris Tiffany Janson, second in 2014; Christi McGarry, first in 2015; and Katarina Rodriguez, first in 2017 (who also represented the country in last year’s Miss World pageant).  – With Celso de Guzman Caparas

New PH Tourism Record

Philippines breaks tourism record in 2018


Philippine Daily Inquirer|AFP
24 January 2019

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines welcomed a record 7.1 million tourists to its beaches and dive spots in 2018, despite its most famous resort Boracay being shut half the year to recover, authorities said Thursday.

Tourists relax along a beach on Boracay Island in Malay town, Aklan province, central Philippines on April 7, 2018.  (Photo by AFP)

The archipelago nation of over 7,000 islands saw the number of visitors jump by nearly eight percent over the previous year, with South Koreans leading the way as its top tourists.

This growth came without much help from Boracay, which was closed for clean up from April to October after President Rodrigo Duterte branded it a “cesspool” fouled by reckless development.

Before the closure, the tiny island’s white sand beaches and turquoise waters were seeing some two million sun worshippers a year.

“The challenging act of closing down Boracay… the country’s top sun-and-beach destination has evidently become a blessing in disguise,” said Philippine tourism secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat.

Other spots like natural paradise Palawan and beach destination Siargao Island saw a jump in foreign tourists during the closure.

While South Korean led the pack with 1.6 million tourists, Chinese arrivals jumped by nearly 30 percent over 2017 to hit 1.3 million, the department of tourism said.

Americans visitors were at one million.

In a statement, the Department of Tourism (DOT) said the 7,127,168 foreign visitors in 2018 was a 7.65 percent increase from the 6,620,908 tourist arrivals recorded in 2017.

“We are now in a time in need of vigilance – a dedication to the principle of a sustainable and inclusive tourism industry,” Puyat said. — with reports from Christia Marie Ramos, INQUIRER.net  /je/kga