Gazini promises authenticity in her Miss U bid

CEBU, Philippines — Miss Universe Philippines 2019 Gazini Christiana Jordi Ganados finally held her long overdue official homecoming via last Sunday’s Pasigarbo sa Sugbo 2019 festivities. The day before the parade, the Talisay City native was at the Cube Wing Atrium of SM Seaside City Cebu to meet fans.

The 23-year-old Filipina-Palestinian thanked all those who patiently waited for her return during the affair, where she opened up to host, good friend and fellow Origin Model Management member, Binibining Cebu Charity 2017 Maria Gigante, about her experiences.

Gazini shared how her first order of business upon arriving was to get her buko juice fix, which she sorely missed while in Manila.

“Na-appreciate jud nako nga niari mo. All of you are my strength towards competing in another battle, for another crown. I’m just so appreciative nga nihatag mo nako og time and effort, kahibaw ko dili lalim,” she said.

“I know the feeling. I used to be that person. It’s not easy having that leap of faith in someone, to believe in them. Daghang salamat mga Cebuanos.”

Since winning the crown, Gazini is still overwhelmed that she was able to win this honor for Cebu. She had dedicated her time to the activities and responsibilities tied with the crown, which is the reason her homecoming had been pushed back. She felt bad leaving her mother, Carmencita, behind in Cebu.

“I don’t get to have a schedule for myself anymore. I have bigger shoes to fill, and I am happily doing that, my service, and caring for Filipinos. It’s an honor for me,” she said.

While she feels obliged to hold herself to a higher standard of character and poise, Gazini still wants to stay true to herself. “To be honest, they always tell me that I should always have make-up on when I go out of the house. To be more prim and proper. But I said to myself, this is who I am. They should accept me.”

Fascinated with the service and platform provided by different organizations through pageantry, Gazini wanted to press her cause of active aging and elderly care, urging everyone to have the heart to serve the elderly.

“There were people who didn’t believe me. How can we share elderly care? They don’t smile in videos. They’re sad. But at the back of my mind, I said how can you make them smile? How can you make them happy? How can you touch their lives? When you think about it, it’s simple: make them feel relevant, make them feel special. Mutiguwang man ta diba?”

While the venue for Miss Universe has yet to be confirmed, Gazini is not opposed to holding it in the Philippines as recent reports have speculated.

“Ganahan ba mo sa Pilipinas?” she asked the crowd, which responded with resounding cheers. “I guess bisan asa na lugar okay ra man basta laban lang. If it would held here, I would love that. Why not?”

With a lot of her critics pointing out her communication skills as a chink in her armor, pageant fans have commented on Gazini’s improvement on the matter.

“Winning the crown didn’t happen in a snap of a finger. I worked hard for it and I am continuously traversing on the goals I want to achieve. Thank you. Thank you for recognizing how I’ve improved,” said Gazini, pointing out that she is more of an introvert and can be very shy, which might be the reason of her reservations.

Gazini also expressed excitement in getting to meet her fellow Miss Universe candidates, some of whom she has already established relationships with online.

“Guys, I am hard on the outside but soft on the inside. I don’t bite. People might recognize me as too strong, too fierce but they just have to get to know me. I’m excited to meet them. My biggest competitor is myself. I have my flaws. I may not be perfect. Gosh, I wasn’t born perfect. Perfection is just an image. True perfection is in the flaws that you have. Just embrace it. Laban lang,” said Gazini.

Instead of promising a back-to-back win, Gazini called on the country not only to support her but to also show their love to the rest of the Binibining Pilipinas queens who will be competing internationally.

“I cannot promise the crown right now,” she said. “All I can promise is that I will be representing the Philippines in the most authentic way that I can.”