MISS Philippines Samantha Ashley Lo is leading the votes for the best in swimsuit special award at the Miss Grand International 2019 pageant ongoing in Caracas, Venezuela.
By the looks of it, Lo is on her way to winning the category having already received more than 300,000 likes on Facebook as of Oct. 21.
Distant second is Miss Myanmar who has garnered more than 50,000 FB likes.
Other candidates in the top 10 are Malaysia, Mexico, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Latvia, Brazil, and Venezuela.
“We will combine the voting scores with the scores from the judging panel to select the winner of best in swimsuit award,” organizers said.
The grand coronation of the Miss Grand International 2019 pageant will be held on Oct. 25 (Oct. 26 Manila time).
So far, no Filipino has won the crown. The highest placement the Philippines has achieved in the pageant was 1st runner up in 2016, courtesy of Nicole Cordovez.
Just days ago, Lo was detained in Paris, France, prior to her eventually being deported due to alleged discrepancies in her travel papers.
Days after her return to Manila, Lo flew again to Venezuela this time carrying a dual citizenship passport.
The beauty queen then explained on Instagram:
“Iknow people have been waiting to hear from me but this past week has been such a rollercoaster of stress and uncertainty that Ifelt it was unnecessary to involve the public.
“Ichose to break my silence until Iarrived in Venezuela because Iwanted to make sure Igot here safely.
“Despite what happened last week and the trauma that came with it, Ihave moved forward and pursued this journey knowing that Idid not intentionally commit any of the acts that have been unfairly attributed to me.
“Yes, my local organizer, who handled my travel preparations, failed to equip me with the proper transit visa that may have enabled me to complete my earlier trip to this host country.
“It wasn’t them who got me out of detention and put me safely on that plane to come back home. It was my family and other well-meaning Filipinos who did – and they are still not resting until this is over.
“Ihope to bring home the crown and glory to the Philippines and our people.
“It is not easy for me to do this – Istill struggle with the fear and the trauma of recent days – but Iknow there is a bigger picture here and Iwill not let such fear silence me or deter me from the grand task ahead.” (ROBERT REQUINTINA)
