Get to know Binibining Pilipinas International 2025 Katrina Anne Johnson
The Binibining Pilipinas 2025 pageant ended on a high note with Katrina Anne Johnson of Davao Province named as the next Binibining Pilipinas International titleholder.
Johnson emerged victorious against 35 other candidates at the 61st edition of the pageant held at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on June 15. Meanwhile, Annabelle Mae McDonnell of Iligan City was hailed as Bb. Pilipinas Globe.
Dalia Khattab of Las Piñas is the first runner-up, while Kathleen Enid Espenido of Siargao is named the second runner-up.
Throughout the competition, Johnson proved that she was indeed deserving of the crown with her unwavering grace, intelligence, and authenticity.
Beauty and brains
Johnson's wit and social awareness were put to the test, and she proved to be as intelligent as she is beautiful.
During the question-and-answer portion, the beauty queen was asked: "'Lies told a thousand times become the truth.' What is your reaction to this statement now that fake news pollutes and corrupts our society more than ever?"
"I think social media and the internet is such a blessing to all of us because it allows us to create a community online with people from all around the world. But yes, fake news is a rampant issue nowadays," Johnson answered.
She went on, "And to be honest with you, I think the best way that we can combat that is to make sure that we're educating people on how to discern information. We need to be aware, we need to regulate, and make our online communities a safe space for everyone."
A fur mom to 13 dogs
Johnson is a certified lover of dogs as she is a mom of a total of 13 furbabies. What's even more special is that she gave these dogs a second chance in life after she saved them from unfortunate situations.
"It's a mix of senior dogs, dogs that have been rescued from unfortunate situations, ones with special needs, one even has a wheelchair," she shared during her profile interview for Binibining Pilipinas.
"It's quite interesting to be surrounded by beings that are so positive. It really humbles me every day, and it makes me really grateful for the life that I have," she added.
It appears that she has a soft spot for animals in general as she previously shared pictures of her visit to a petting zoo on her Instagram account, where she could be seen feeding a baby goat.
A fast learner of languages
Learning a new language is no walk in the park, and while others need tutors or special apps, Johnson prides herself on being able to learn languages and dialects quickly. She said that she became fluent in Bisaya in just under five months.
"That's something I'm really proud of," she said.
"I learned it not by a tutor or a teacher. I actually learned it by eavesdropping on my classmates and just trying to put together the sentences. So it was hit or miss. I made a few mistakes, but eventually, I got the hang of it," she added.
A licensed pharmacist
When she's strutting the stage as a beauty queen, Johnson is busy living life as a licensed pharmacist.
She places high importance on accessible healthcare for Filipinos, especially after she visited some of the vulnerable sectors of society and became aware of the reality of the situation.
"Even when I was a student back in 2016, I had tried to figure out a way to help out the local medical charities in our area. So I was able to donate, but I wanted to do more once I became a licensed pharmacist," Johnson said.
"I found that I was in a situation where I wanted to move out of the walls of a pharmacy or out of the walls of a hospital and really emerge myself in the community. I've always been very passionate on wanting the Philippines to really achieve accessible healthcare for all Filipinos," she continued.
The beauty queen shared that she is focusing on helping children from vulnerable communities, especially those in orphanages.
"I've been able to do a few symposiums and I've been able to donate things like vitamins and supplements. It seems so basic, but when you talk about children and they don't have these guardians to look up to, they don't have people to teach them basic health knowledge or basic health literacy. So I've been doing that," Johnson said.
"I've been able to teach them a little bit about eating right, sleeping well, how to maintain proper health, as well as also proper hand washing. It's really nice to be able to see that I'm making an impact on them and they're also going to grow up to become the future generation. So I hope I'm doing my part to raise our future advocates for healthcare," she added.
Johnson took over the reign of Myrna Esguerra of Abra. Esguerra will represent the Philippines at the upcoming Miss International pageant on Nov. 27 in Tokyo, Japan, while Johnson will compete in the international tilt in 2026.
