Crowns with purpose: How the Binibining Pilipinas 2026 winners plan to champion their causes
More than wearing their crowns, the newest Binibining Pilipinas queens are eager to get busy helping other people through their advocacies.
On July 18, Gwendoline Meliz Soriano of Baguio City won Binibining Pilipinas 2026 International, and Sasha-Juli Belle Lacuna of Tarlac was crowned Binibining Pilipinas 2026 Globe. Julianne Raine Antonio of Dumaguete City and Bacolod's Tracy Mae Sunio emerged first runner-up and second runner-up, respectively.
Aside from fulfilling the duties their titles bring, each one is looking forward to serving others through their newly acquired platforms.
Servant queens
Antonio is excited to push for animal welfare.
"The laws against animal cruelty aren't so strong [in the Philippines], so I hope that I can use my platform to encourage our government to make stronger laws against animal cruelty," she said in an interview with PhilSTAR L!fe.
Sunio from Bacolod has several other advocacies she'd like to focus on.
"I hope that after our reign, I can really work with our LGBT [community] and give back to our lolos and lolas," she shared. "I have a lot of advocacies: diversity, disabilities awareness, and also holistic elderly wellness."
Having worked with the elderly for the past decade, Sunio knows what she needs to do for them.
"I want to scale big... hopefully create a center and help our lolos and lolas have a dignified life because they are at the last stretch now of their lives," the Bacolodnon queen said. "There are homes back in our city, neighboring municipalities, actually, [where the elderly] have been very neglected. They have been sleeping in homes that are not [well-maintained]."
"I know it will not be easy, and it will not happen overnight. It will be years of hard work and contracts and construction work. But I know eventually, it will give me the opportunity to give [the elderly] a more dignified life," Sunio added.
Soriano said she's glad the four of them share the same values as far as charity work is concerned.
"I'm actually very happy that the four of us are aligned with BPCI," she told L!fe. Binibining Pilipinas Charities, Inc. runs the pageant while overseeing the philanthropic projects the delegates can take part in.
"It's okay if we have a lot of advocacies. We can do all that. It should not be limited to just one," she said. "We would like to support each other with the things that we want to do. And that's one thing that I look forward to."
Back in Tarlac, Lacuna worked with Kanlahi Community Center, an HIV testing center.
"My hope for them is that there can be more attention [brought] to their organization because they lack funding," Lacuna said. She also shared her dismay with the public's lack of HIV and AIDS awareness.
"If people just tune into more of what they do, especially in our home province, we [can] hopefully decrease the amount of HIV and AIDS cases in the country," she said.
Lacuna also advocates for Project HOPE, a youth organization that helps communities through education and entrepreneurship.
"They aren't even [included] in DepEd-allocated funds for the work that they do," she said, adding the organization goes from municipality to municipality teaching students about mental health.
"If only they had proper funding and support. I hope that with my reign, and of course even after, they are able to earn that," Lacuna said.
The art of 'dedma'
With Filipinos being extremely passionate about beauty pageants, unwelcome remarks directed at winners are inevitable. Our four queens are ready for it.
Though she admitted she doesn't let the comments consume her, Soriano said she does not hesitate to call out the ones that cross the line.
"I know that people who get to read [the untruthful comments] will believe it. So I call it out respectfully, gracefully, and timely," she said. "And when it comes to bashing, I've mastered the art of dedma."
Sunio is another disciple of that art form. She is not active on social media. "I only follow the important channels like news outlets and people who can contribute to my knowledge and to my life," she said, adding she ignores the rest.
"I think that's a really healthy mindset and lifestyle to have," Sunio said. "You can live life as if no one is criticizing you."
Lacuna put it in perspective.
"Majority of the things people say about us is a fraction of what we really go through in our daily lives, so it's important that we filter [it] out," she said.
"At the end of the day, we have our private lives. Our families are the ones who know us truly. And should it not be that the people who know us truly are the people that we listen to?" the Tarlac native continued.
Antonio focuses on gratitude and kindness to help her avoid feeling bad about bashers.
"As long as you wake up every day and you're thankful for a new day, you're kind to everyone, and kind to yourself, that's okay," she said. "I always remind myself to just keep using every day as a learning experience, continue to be yourself, and continue to figure out ways to grow."
For future binibinis
If they were face-to-face with aspiring Binibing Pilipinas queens, Soriano said she'd advise them to pursue their dream courageously, keep the faith, and know themselves.
"What helped me was being firm about who I am, embracing it... and being secure in my identity in Christ," she said.
"Pageants are not easy. There are a lot of voices, noise. It's chaotic, and it can be tiring sometimes. But if you know your 'why' and if you're sure about who you are and who you're representing, then you can be courageous," Soriano added.
Sunio shared that she'd tell the girls to take every chance that opens up until they "land on the perfect one."
"We have to go out of our comfort zones to be able to explore the world," she added.
For Antonio, the important thing is to embrace the inevitable discomfort life brings.
"Putting yourself in uncomfortable situations will make you grow," she said.
"You also have to remember that everything happens for a reason," she added, pointing at the queens beside her. "They've had a background already in pageantry. Look at them now. It just wasn't their time before. And now they have crowns on their heads. Rejection is redirection."