Miss Philippines Earth 2016 finale concluded with the crowning of Imelda Schweighart as the winner by the outgoing queen Angelia Gabrena Ong. The crowning might have made waves as the crowd’s favourite won the title that night, but what took the country by storm was the Q&A round of the Top 12 finalists, especially that of Miss Zamboanga Bellatrix Tan.
Also Read : Miss Philippines Earth 2016 Question and Answer round of Top 5
If you were watching the Miss Philippines Earth 2016 finale on June 11’ 2016, you must be aware that the Top 12 finalists went through a segment that sought to showcase the beauty queen's knowledge on the current environmental issues. The candidates were tasked to elaborate on a trending topic they picked from a basket. That’s where the whole going viral thing started. Miss Zamboanga Bellatrix Tan got #ElNiño and #LaNiña, two weather-related phenomena that have devastated the country in recent years.
Here is giving you a brief description of both the phenomenon...
El Niño is a case of extreme draught
La Niña generally brings extreme rains, and even hurricanes, in some areas
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Now what Tan answered was, “El Niño is what we are experiencing now. If we do simple things like planting trees then we will not be experiencing drought, right? So if we start now, we will achieve La Niña!” Her answer might have made sense in the beginning but the way she ended it was a total disaster. A lot of people are not informed about climate change and with Bellatrix’s answer it seems pretty clear.
Basic science is an important aspect of the Miss Earth competition as it has an advocacy for raising awareness about environmental awareness, but this particular criterion proved fatal for Miss Zamboanga. One of the judges best decribed Miss Zamboanga's answer as: "Nakakaloka! (This will make me go crazy!)"
Bellatrix tan couldn’t make it to the Top 5 finalists. Imelda Schweighart was crowned as the new Miss Philippines Earth 2016. The other winners of the night were –
Miss Eco-tourism: Vienna – Melanie Mader
Miss Philippines Fire: Rosales, Pangasinan – Shannon Rebecca Bridgman
Miss Philippines Water: Laoag City – Loren Mar Artajos
Miss Philippines Air: London, Kiaragiel Gregorio
Also Read : Imelda Bautista Schweighart crowned as Miss Philippines Earth 2016