Catriona Gray wins fourth Miss Universe crown for PH — SCINTILLATING RUN Catriona Gray wins over Miss Universe judges and the international audience with her confidence, wit and her “slow-motion twirl” earlier in the competition. —AFP

She has the world at her feet and her jubilant Bicolandia townmates can’t wait to erect a monument in her honor.

Catriona Gray became the fourth Filipino woman to be crowned Miss Universe, besting contestants from 93 other countries on Monday and delighting her home country after a scintillating run in the pageant held in Bangkok.

“My heart is filled with so much gratitude. There were moments of doubt where I felt overwhelmed and I felt the pressure,” the 24-year-old Filipino-Australian model said after she edged out Miss South Africa Tamaryn Green, who finished the contest as first runner-up, and Miss Venezuela Sthefany Gutierrez, who placed third.

Firing up social media buzz early in the competition with her “slow-motion twirl” in the swimsuit contest and eye-catching national costume, Gray wore on coronation night a sparkling red dress that she said was inspired by Mayon Volcano in her home province of Albay, to the delight of a roaring audience that generally rooted for Southeast Asian contestants.

She picked that color because “when I was 13 my mom said she had a dream that I would win Miss Universe in a red dress.” She said her mom cried when they saw each other after she won the competition.

Her win came after a trailblazing ceremony praised for featuring its first transgender candidate but marred by gaffes about the English-speaking abilities of two Asian contestants.

Filipinos cheered wildly and jumped for joy when Gray was declared the winner. Celebrations were especially buoyant in Oas town, Albay, from which Gray’s Filipino mother Normita Ragas Magnayon hails.

Oas celebrates

As soon as pageant host Steve Harvey announced the winner, many residents in the province, including those who trooped to gyms and basketball courts to watch the pageant on wide screens, broke out into shouts of joy.

Salve Ragas-Dineros, Gray’s grandaunt who watched the pageant on a screen set up at the Oas tennis court, was ecstatic.

“You know how hard it is to win if you are one of the 94, but she answered [the question] coming from the heart. She was just natural. She was very good in answering. Throw any question at her, her answers are really well thought out,” added Elmer Ragas, Gray’s granduncle based in Legazpi City.

Moved by her feat, Mayor Domingo Escoto Jr. of Oas said the local government planned to erect a life-size statue in Gray’s honor to let future generations know that “here, we had a Miss Universe” who represented the town and the country.

“I do not think that we will be able to produce a second or a third [Miss Universe], so let’s build one (monument) now,” he told the Inquirer.

Bicolano author Abdon Balde Jr. suggested that the sculptor incorporate the lava-inspired gown that Gray wore during the pageant’s evening gown competition.

“They could commission a good sculptor to do an image of [Gray] with the now famous lava flow gown [while] holding the Miss Universe trophy and make it a cultural icon. They could choose a good public place to set it up, maybe inside the newly renovated garden park,” he said.

A hero’s welcome awaits Gray at Oas, officials said.

Cheers from Duterte, Robredo

Gray succeeds Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters of South Africa. Before Gray, three other Filipinos won the Miss Universe title: Gloria Diaz in 1969, Margie Moran in 1973 and Pia Wurtzbach in 2015.

At the Palace, President Rodrigo Duterte’s spokesperson was quick to congratulate Gray.

“Ms Gray truly made the entire Philippines proud when she sashayed on the global stage and showcased the genuine qualities defining a Filipina beauty: confidence, grace, intelligence and strength in the face of tough challenges,” Salvador Panelo said.

“In her success, Miss Philippines has shown to the world that women in our country have the ability to turn dreams into reality through passion, diligence, determination and hard work,” he added.

Gray’s answer to the final question resonated with Vice President Leni Robredo, who hails from the same region as Gray, Bicol.

“With the eyes of the world and the entire Filipino nation on you, you chose to highlight your work with the poor, and to send a much-needed message of hope to all. With those inspiring words, you already became a winner in my heart, and, I am certain, in those of many others,” Robredo said.

At the pageant’s decisive final Question and Answer portion, where the last three beauties standing were asked to share the most important lesson they have learned in their lives and how they would apply it to their time as Miss Universe, Gray replied:

“I worked a lot in the slums of Tondo, Manila, and the life there is very poor, and it’s very sad. And I’ve always taught myself to look for the beauty in the faces of the children, and to be grateful,” she said.

She continued: “I would bring this aspect as Miss Universe to see situations with the silver lining, and to assess where I could give something, where I could provide something as a spokesperson. And this, I think, we fight for. Teach the people to be grateful. We could have an amazing world where negativity could not grow and foster, and children would have a smile on their faces,” she said.

Marijuana question

An early round of questioning touched on the issue of drugs, where President Duterte’s aggressive “war on drugs” had taken thousands of lives, many in what critics charge were extrajudicial executions.

The President raised even more controversy when he recently joked that he smoked marijuana to deal with the busy schedule of meetings with other Southeast Asian leaders at a regional summit in Singapore.

Asked what she thought about legalizing marijuana, Gray said: “I’m for it being used for medical use, but not so for recreational use. Because I think if people will argue, then what about alcohol and cigarettes? Everything is good but in moderation.”

After she was crowned, Gray told reporters the question was “definitely relevant” and “an active topic,” in an apparent reference to the bloody war on drugs in the Philippines that had caused international alarm. —Reports from Rey Anthony Ostria, Mar S. Arguelles, Michael Jaucian, Armin Adina, Christine O. Avendaño, Vince F. Nonato, Dexter Cabalza, and the wires