Yolanda survivor is first Miss Ganda Pulis

MANILA, Philippines -  A rookie police officer who survived but lost her grandmother when Super Typhoon Yolanda struck the country in 2013 was crowned the first ever Miss Philippine National Police (PNP) or Ganda Pulis 2017 on Tuesday night.

Police Officer 1 Arla Ray Paciencia bested 26 other candidates during the coronation night at the Multi-Purpose Center at Camp Crame in Quezon City.

Paciencia, 24, hails from Tacloban City and has been in the service for four years. Paciencia is currently assigned at the Eastern Visayas Police Regional Office (PRO-8).

“Be thankful for the struggles you go through. They make you stronger, wiser and humble. Don’t let them break you. Let them make you,” Paciencia, who had to face a number of challenges in life but managed to handle them well, said.

In her video, Paciencia shared the ups and downs she has been going through.

She graduated cum laude from a nursing course but her mother suffered a stroke a few years ago and is still under medication. After that, Paciencia lost her grandmother during Yolanda and then she was diagnosed to be suffering from vitiligo, a condition in which the pigment is lost from areas of the skin, causing whitish patches, often with no clear cause.

Paciencia recalled she and other family members were inside their house in Tacloban City when the storm surge hit at the height of Yolanda. She said they struggled to go to a safer place by holding on to electric cables until they reached another house, broke its glass windows and got in.

Her grandmother, she said, was in another area and they were not able to rescue her.

The Ganda Pulis 2017 said she did not expect to win the pageant since candidates from other regions and national support units are also beautiful.

“This only shows that police officers are not only for patrolling, but for beauty pageants as well,” Paciencia said.

“It is my personal choice to enter PNP, first (for) the security of tenure, regular employment,” she said.

She said she did not think of working abroad as she does not want to leave her family.

“I am a family-oriented person and I believe there’s no place like home,” Paciencia said.

Her advocacies include uplifting women, including those with physical deficiencies and insecurities by highlighting that what matters is they are “beautiful inside,” promote their rights and that of children who belong to the vulnerable sectors of society.

“And third is the different programs of the PNP – to continue for example as a nurse – medical missions, dental missions, rescue volunteering and other forms of public service,” she added.

Other candidates in the top five were PO1 Nova Em Lago from Davao PRO-11, PO1 Leizel Abejero from Zamboanga PRO-9, PO1 Bernie Jane dela Cruz from Central Luzon PRO-3 and PO1 Janice Etang from the Caraga PRO-13.

Dela Cruz won the best traditional costume award for wearing an elaborate gown with lantern-like adornment.

Insp. Jelyn Canas of the Special Action Force won the People’s Choice Award for garnering the highest number of likes and shares on the event’s official Facebook page.

The Ganda Pulis (Beautiful Policewoman) 2017 event was initiated by the PNP Police Community Relations Group.

The PCRG director, Chief Supt. Gilbert Cruz, said the program was meant to humanize the PNP amid the campaign against illegal drugs and other anti-crime drives.

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“The candidates will serve as ambassadors (for) environment protection and protection of women and children,” Cruz told The STAR.

Cruz said the PNP did not spend a single centavo in the event as the costs were shouldered by kind-hearted groups, which believed in the effort to bring the police closer to the people.