CJ Opiaza Joins Ranks of PHL Queens Who Made Pageant History

"Finally, we have it, and we call it destiny. So, thank you, thank you so much."

- By Jerry Donato

Those were the words of Filipina beauty queen Christine Juliane "CJ" Opiaza during a recent media call, referring to the country's first-ever Miss Grand International crown.

CJ, one of the strongest Philippine representatives sent to the Thailand-based beauty pageant, was named first runner-up to Rachel Gupta of India last year. Since the latter could no longer fulfill her duties or resigned as the titleholder, based on available reports, CJ was tapped to continue the reign.

Although the Philippines has performed well at the Miss Grand International in previous editions, with three first-runner placements including CJ's, the golden crown remained elusive until the turn of events happened.

With that, one could say that local pageant enthusiasts were initially stunned, perhaps some even considered CJ's from-runner-up-to-winner story surreal. They welcomed it and are grateful that CJ is Miss Grand International 2024.

"It actually sank in during the crowning moment already, when I was on stage and when I saw all the Filipinos," recalled CJ about the pinch-me moment and her crowning ceremony. "During that time, I wasn't really expecting that there would be a lot of Filipinos in the area but I knew there were gonna be a lot of Thai fans because they were already messaging me."