Kathleen Paton secured the Philippines another beauty pageant crown as the 24-year-old won the Miss Eco International 2022 pageant held in Egypt on March 17.
Kathleen's win makes it the second Miss Eco International crown for the Philippines, which the country last won in 2018. Prior to the coronation night, Kathleen posted on Instagram, "Mabuhay, Philippines! Today is the day! Thank you for all the love and care you all poured onto me."
Other winners of the competition were Chloë Reweghs, Belgium (1st runner-up); Jessy Peralta, United States (2nd runner-up); Lucia Morales, Spain (3rd runner-up); and Prasana Shri, Malaysia (4th runner-up).
In the final question-and-answer round, Kathleen was asked, "As a titleholder, you're a public figure. Do you think it's important to stay neutral on controversial social issues or to use your title to promote your own belief, and why?"
Kathleen responded, "It is a very tough question in all honesty because we are at the forefront of opinions and negativity every single day, especially on social media. I do believe as a leader and as someone who is very influential in society, we sometimes have to use our voice in a very neutral state of mind because we have a very influential position. But in doing so, we also need to use our voice in order to motivate other people to stand up for what is right, and I think that takes a lot of good moral compass."
Kathleen, who's part Pinay and Australian, is no stranger to beauty pageants. Prior to winning the Miss Eco Philippines title in October 2021, Kathleen also won Miss Teen International 2017 and Miss Manila 2018.
