Miss Eco International 2025 Alexie Brooks dedicates win to late grandmother: 'Lola, I made it!'
Alexie Brooks, the newly crowned Miss Eco International 2025, dedicated her win to one special person in her life: her late grandmother.
The Miss Eco International coronation night took place at the Hilton Alexandria Green Plaza in Egypt on April 20 (Philippine time). Alexie stood out among other candidates from across the globe, making her the third Filipina to win the international title.
But amid the celebration of her victory, Alexie's win carried deep personal meaning as she said it was a gift for her late Lola Basing, who passed away in September 2024.
"I was saying to myself kahit sino nalang sa amin manalo, cause I know the girl, her advocacy[...] But then in the back of my mind, I wanted to do this for my grandma, she passed away recently and it was her birthday four days ago," she said in an interview with Missosology.
The Ilongga beauty queen added, "So every time kasi na birthday ni lola, tinatanong ko kung ano gusto niya. Whenever I compete, I always bring home the gold, so I thought this time [I could] bring her home the crown. I was really really happy."
After her win, she celebrated with a simple post of a photo of Lola Basing alongside her crowning moment.
"Lola! I made it!" she captioned.
'My grandma is my life'
In a January 2024 interview with ABS-CBN's TV Patrol, Alexie showed how close she was to her Lola Basing. Her grandmother cared for her as she grew up selling vegetables in the market in Leon, Iloilo, while her mom worked as an overseas Filipino worker.
"My grandma is my life, without her I don't think I will have this dream, I don't think I would even achieve the achievements that I have right now kasi everything that I do right now, or everything that I ever done is all for her," she said.
Brooks took home the third Miss Eco International crown for the Philippines, following Kathleen Paton (2022) and Cynthia Thomalla (2018).
In the pageant's Q&A segment, she was asked about the change she's hoping to see in the world by 2050.
"You know, if you want me to be realistic, climate change is impacting our world right now, and the only thing that we can do is to act towards it," she answered. "Brothers and sisters, ladies and gentlemen, we have the same mother even if we came from different nations, and we, in here, are brothers and sisters right now. Our mother is asking for our help, so we must save our planet Earth, and we must take care of our Mother Earth. Thank you so much."
Brooks also won Best National Costume at the tilt, which helped her secure a spot in the Top 20.
Brooks represented Iloilo City at the Miss Universe Philippines 2024 competition, where Bulacan's Chelsea Manalo won the title.
