CJ Opiaza recounts rollercoaster journey to her ‘grand’ crown

September 2 ------Reigning Miss Grand International Christine Juliane “CJ” Opiaza looked back on her long journey in pageantry a week after she relinquished her national title to Emma Tiglao. “As I close this chapter, I leave you all with this: Life is not about never losing, but about finding the courage to rise every time you fall,” the pageant veteran and fan favorite beauty queen from Zambales posted on social media.

Exactly a week after passing her national title as Miss Grand Philippines, Opiaza shared the full video of the farewell speech she delivered during the coronation show. “My journey proves that dreams may test you, break you, and even make you doubt yourself—but if you keep going, they will also bless you in ways you never imagined,” she said in her caption.

In her speech, Opiaza fondly looked back at her long and colorful journey from barangay pageants to finally claiming the national title, experiencing both being a “backstage clapper” (eliminated contestant) and a victor. She won her first national pageant, the Miss Bikini Philippines search, in 2016. This led to her first international competition, the Global Beauty Queen contest. But she went home empty-handed from the overseas tilt. Opiaza also made the rounds of provincial pageants, traveling beyond the borders of her home province of Zambales, and collected placements and crowns.

She also tried her luck in corporate beauty pageants and was crowned as the first-ever Miss Econest in 2018. She also joined the first-ever Miss Midori Clark in the same year, and finished fourth, with Tiglao ranking second. The title went to Jasmine Omay, who later became Universal Woman Philippines 2025.

In 2019, Opiaza was crowned Ambassadress of the World-Philippines in a twin competition that also featured male contestants. Among the female contenders was Gabrielle Basiano, who was proclaimed as Ambassador of Tourism-Philippines. The two ladies had another faceoff in the 2022 Binibining Pilipinas pageant. Already a runner-up from the previous year, Basiano moved a notch higher and was crowned Bb. Pilipinas Intercontinental. Opiaza, meanwhile, failed to advance to the semifinals. Opiaza returned to the national pageant stage in 2023 as Zambales’ official delegate to the Miss Universe Philippines pageant. She finished as first runner-up to Michelle Marquez Dee.

And last year, she won her ticket to the Miss Grand International competition just three days before heading to Bangkok, Thailand, for the global tilt. She came so close to becoming the first Filipino woman to win the Miss Grand International pageant’s “golden crown” at the end of the competition and finished as first runner-up to India’s Rachel Gupta, who won the title. But the Indian beauty stepped down from her throne in May, more than halfway through her reign. The international organization called on Opiaza in June to officially assume the remainder of Gupta’s reign as the new Miss Grand International titleholder.

Opiaza is set to crown her successor as Miss Grand International at the staging of the pageant’s 13th edition in Bangkok, in October. The final competition is scheduled on Oct. 18.

Source: inquirer.net