Former AsnTM contestant takes home MWP 2018 crown

For the question and answer portion, Katarina was asked, “There are people who believe that beauty pageants are a form of women exploitation. What can you do to change their opinion?” (File Photo: @katarinarodri/Instagram)

Model/Host Katarina Rodriguez bested out 39 other candidates last Sunday, October 7 at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay as she was crowned Miss World Philippines 2018.

For the question and answer portion, Katarina was asked, “There are people who believe that beauty pageants are a form of women exploitation. What can you do to change their opinion?”

She answered, “I’d like to think that one should live by example. And I actually would like to admit that I was one of those before, until I learned more about what beauty pageants are about. One thing I can tell you is that you may think it’s very competitive, but it’s not. You understand beauty pageants when you know that it is actually not competitive against other women. It’s actually competitive towards yourself. And in a sense, it’s all about women empowerment. And you can feel that in this group of girls… each girl knows that we are all individually beautiful.”

Among the winners were also Reina Hispanoamericana Filipinas 2018 Alyssa Muhlach Alvarez, Miss EcoInternational Philippines 2018 Maureen Montagne, Miss Multinational Philippines 2018 Kimi Mugford, First Princess Chanel Morales and Second Princess Pearl Hung. Miss World Philippines 2017 Laura Lehmann, Reina Hispanoamericana 2017 WynWyn Marquez, Miss Ecointernational 2017 Cynthia Thomalla, and Miss Multinational 2017 Sophia Senoron were present to crown their successors.

Miss World 2013 Megan Young, Miss World 2016 Stephanie De Valle, and Miss World 2017 Manushi Chillar were also at the event as judges.

Before the coronation, Katarina shared a photo on Instagram captioned, “My heart cannot be fuller than tonight, to walk the stage again for all of our nation, competing to wear the Philippine sash over my heart one more time – and this time for the world.”

This is not Katarina’s first victory in a pageant, representing the Philippines in January 2018 for Miss Intercontinental in Egypt where she landed first runner-up. She began her career as a contestant for Asia’s Next Top Model Cycle 2.