MANILA, Philippines — When Katrina Jayne Dimaranan won as Binibining Pilipinas Tourism in 2011, she thought her dreams of having a chance to compete at the Miss Universe stage was gone forever. It was an unwritten rule that once a candidate won a Binibini title, she can no longer compete in that same pageant ever. She won her Binibini crown when she was still 18 years old.
Now, a decade later, she sees a glimmer of hope because the selecting body is no longer the Binibining Pilipinas Charities Inc. but the Miss Universe Philippines organization.
So, she grabbed her belongings and flew to Manila in the early part of the year to focus on her last bid to the national crown.
Considered a frontrunner and the candidate to beat, Katrina adds to her accomplishments a first runner-up finish at the Miss Supranational 2018 pageant, where she represented the United States.
After her Binibini journey, Katrina returned to the US to join the rest of her all-Filipino family and get immersed in her job as show host for a program directed to the Filipino communities in the States.
At the interview challenge that eventually led to the announcement of the Top 30 official candidates, Katrina remained her candid, bubbly self. Though viewers had to be quick in their hearing to catch her twang.
The Philippines and the Vatican are the only two sovereign states that prohibit divorce. Katrina was then asked, "Are you in favor or against legalizing divorce in the Philippines?"
The dusky brunette replied by saying, "I had been asked this when I was 18, and I still stand by what I think from before versus now - which is, as much as we want to stay committed to the person that we married, we can always decide whether or not they want to stay together. I know that married people stay together and try to work it out but, at the same time, we need to respect that they are no longer in love and the things they choose that's better for their family and children."
While Katrina is born to an all-Filipino set of parents, her outlook, influenced by years of living abroad, has been shaped by her immediate environment. I know of many people who share her sentiments, even if they've never lived abroad, because foreign mass media has slowly crept into their consciousness, and embraced the same as a way of life.
Finally, Katrina was asked the common query, "How has the pandemic challenged you?"
"It challenged me in multiple ways - in having to go to school full-time and working full-time while trying to support my family. Having to focus on school from home, it teaches us responsibility and accountability because we need to be more focused.
"And aside from that, I have to deal with being away from my family and not being able to see them. And it's been very hard but social media has an advantage for me because I can connect with my family from all over the world."