Pauline Amelinckx hopes to be still seen as a ‘winner and dedicated queen’
Miss Supranational 2023 first runner-up Pauline Amelinckx wants to be remembered as a “dedicated” beauty queen who did not give up on her dreams of representing the Philippines on the international stage.
“I want to be remembered as a dedicated Pau-Pau,” she told The STAR in a media conference held recently at the Crowne Plaza Manila Galleria in Ortigas, Pasig City. “It’s been three tries for me in national pageantry before finally I was able to represent the Philippines internationally and even then I didn’t actually come home with the main crown.”
“But I hope that people somehow remember me still as a winner, as a queen because we were able to achieve something so big and something so glorious together. And it really comes to show that when we all put our hearts and minds and souls into something that unites people, then we can really make that beautiful difference in the world when we come together,” she added.
The Boholana-Belgian stunner finished third runner-up at the Miss Universe Philippines (MUPH) 2020, was crowned MUPH 2022 Charity and placed at the Top 5 during the MUPH 2023 pageant.
She was appointed as the representative of the Philippines to the Miss Supranational 2023 and competed in Poland last July 14 where she placed first runner-up, next to Ecuador’s Andrea Aguilera.
Pauline became emotional when she answered the question on how did her Miss Supranational journey change her life. She began, “I think it has made me all the more appreciative and grateful for the people because like I said before it really isn’t a one-woman journey and it has been an ambition of mine for so many years already to finally wear the Philippine sash, to say Philippines with a microphone and it wouldn’t have been possible if not for the people, my team, my mom.”
“I really think it’s impossible to have a presscon without Pau-Pau crying. Hahaha!” she gained her composure back and continued, “I wouldn’t have made it this far if it weren’t for the people who, in their (own) way, (were) also dedicated to me in my journey. I’m immensely grateful, immensely appreciative (and) also extremely happy. All the people keep saying, ‘You should have won, you should have won,’ but I’m like well thank you for thinking but I already did.”
She was further queried on how she could unite the pageant fans to support Philippines’ representatives to the world stage and what her thoughts were about toxicity in pageantry.
“I’ve already experienced, we’ve all somehow experienced so much toxicity that also comes along with pageantry,” she acknowledged. “And I noticed that one thing that we can all do about is to speak up and kill it with kindness.
“There’s so much power in every voice here in this room and in every post that you can even make online. And I noticed that if I would speak up about it somehow people may get the chance to reflect or think on their actions. And they’ve even taken a step back and realized that hindi yun maganda, I shouldn’t have done that,” she said.
“Everyone has feelings that don’t deserve to be hurt in ways that are just mean or… and hopefully by speaking up about it which also takes a lot of courage sometimes, by speaking up about it at least we allow ourselves and other people to reflect on our thoughts and on our actions and on how we treat the people around us, especially when it comes to pageantry.”
Quoting a friend, she remarked, “She said that women don’t join pageants to be criticized and to fall victim, to take on all the toxicity but because we wanna raise our voices, everyone that brings people together and that’s something that we always need to remind ourselves with.”
“I always believe that beauty pageant, like basketball or boxing, really brings people together, so let’s use that unity for something useful and meaningful,” she furthered.
Pauline also shared that she often gets asked if she plans to join showbiz, following her Miss Supranational 2023 journey, but expressed that she would like to pursue hosting instead.
“Actually, I just arrived about two weeks ago, and I remember just having like one whole day of rest to recover from jetlag and then, I was actually going back to work for the organization, for the different brands and sponsors that have helped us get this far in this journey,” she said.
“And one thing that I really enjoy which is something that I did last night was hosting. So, I hope to be able to continue on that path as well and somehow still be part of other girls’ journey not as a co-candidate, but as a host this time. That’s something that I really look forward to.”
During the same event, Pauline was named as the first Miss Philippines queen and was crowned by MUPH national director of Shamcey Supsup, with creative and events director Jonas Gaffud.
Meanwhile, Mister Supranational Philippines 2023 Johannes Rissler, who also competed in Poland and finished at the Top 20, appreciated more of his Filipino roots after representing the country in the international pageant.
“I feel the same parang alam mo yung feeling na may next level ka ng naabot sa buhay, but you’re still you (and) you’ve learned lessons and experience along the way, along the journey,” he said.
“Mas love ko na yung adobo. Hahaha! Siyempre, alam mo naman iba yung food dun and mas naging deep ako sa kung saan yung roots ko, which is the Philippines. I loved the Philippines even more,” he shared.
The actor-model plans to pursue a music career after his stint at the Mister Supranational.
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