Opinions
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Miss Philippines Earth winners: L-r: Michelle Martha (Air), Adie Adelantar (Ecotourism), Miss Philippines Earth 2009 Sandra Seifert, Patricia Marie Tumulak (Fire), and Catherine Loyola (Water) |
MANILA – Sandra Seifert, the statuesque New York-educated nurse from Negros Occidental, was crowned Miss Philippines-Earth 2009 at The Arena in San Juan City (Metro Manila) on May 10, 2009.
Winning the crown can’t be any sweeter for the newly crowned Miss Philippines Earth 2009. Seifert was disqualified from the 2009 rival Bb. Pilipinas beauty pageant for posing in a men’s magazine in 2007. She will represent the Philippines in this year’s Miss Earth 2009 contest, whose reigning titleholder is another Filipina, Karla Paula Henry, the first from the Philippines to take the international crown.
The 25-year-old Filipino-German was an early pageant favourite and had already won four special awards prior to Sunday’s coronation night – including best in festival costume and swimsuit awards. She won P250,000 plus other prizes. 
The four runners-up were Adie Adelantar of Victorias City, also in Negros Occidental, who was named Miss Philippines Eco-Tourism and Miss Pagcor; Patricia Marie Tumulak (Quezon City), Miss Philippines-Fire and Miss Science and Technology; Michelle Martha Braun (Aklan), Miss Philippines-Air; and Catherine Loyola, who represented the Filipino community in Sydney, Miss Philippines-Water. There were a total of 50 contestants representing various cities, provinces and overseas Filipino communities.
Crowd favourite
Tall, articulate and heavily into waste segregation in her home town, Siefert said that, as a little girl, she already “dreamed to make a difference in this world.”
On Sunday night, Siefert proved that she was the crowd favourite. Various media reports indicated that aside from her Eurasian good looks, gorgeous physique and stunning grace, she impressed the judges with her quick wit and genuine concern for the environment.
When asked what she would change to make herself a better environmentalist, Seifert said: “When I joined Miss Earth I became aware of the things I can do as a Filipina and as a citizen of the world. I would like to share this awareness with more people, whether on a personal level or through the media … [I want to] make a difference in every little way I can.”
As the candidate from Negros Occidental, Seifert was candid when she said that the principal problem in her province is that there is no waste segregation.
“It is a problem because it is inevitable that we all produce waste…out of 13 cities only three of the cities right now are practicing solid waste management… we need to cover 10 more and 19 more municipalities,” she said.
“Let’s not sit back and relax,” she said, as she stressed the need to take care of Mother Nature.
“I was a studious little girl who dreamed to make a difference in this world. The recent Earth Hour was memorable because I was helping Mother Earth in a big way, but at the same time saddening because not everyone participated in it. I believe that everyone has a purpose in life and that participating in Ms. Philippines-Earth has brought me closer to mine,” Seifert is quoted as saying on the Miss Philippine Earth website.
According to Carousel Productions, pageant organizers, more and more Filipinos are getting involved to join their cause. The pageant, now on its ninth year, will focus on the “green” lifestyle that promotes eco-friendly practices among Filipinos and the world, too.
Actor-singer Billy Crawford and actress-singer Nikki Gil hosted Sunday’s event.