Kristofer Purnell - Philstar.com
September 13, 2024 | 11:20am
MANILA, Philippines — The victorious queens of Binibining Pilipinas 2024 visited Philstar.com's office where they were asked several questions related to relationships.
The queens were first asked the ever-popular love conundrum: mahal mo o mahal ka?
"For the sake of choosing a side hmmm... I would choose mahal ako," said 2nd runner-up Trisha Martinez. "I'm a beauty queen, napakarami kong dapat mahalin so dapat intindihin and mahalin niya ako."
Fellow runner-up Christal "Tala" dela Cruz laughed because she wanted to choose both options, instead going with "mahal ako."
"Kasi if you love me, I will learn to love you. If mahal mo ako, that's when you know a person would do anything for me, risk anything for me. I will love him then for the way he makes [an] effort, that's real love," Tala added.
The crowned queens, Binibining Pilipinas International Myrna Esguerra and Binibining Pilipinas Globe Jasmin Bungay, both chose "mahal ko."
Related: Love or crown? Binibining Pilipinas 2024 queens weigh in
"I can only speak for my present self. Ewan ko para sa'kin all these years [were] 'gusto ko, gusto ko, gusto ko' muna bago ako magustuhan. Ganun lang, preference!" explained Jasmin.
Myrna shared that based on the past, people cannot force connection no matter how hard they try.
"I would rather choose the one that I love instead of the one who loves me. If that happens, I may just hurt the person and I don't want to hurt anyone else," Myrna said. "I don't want to go into a relationship knowing I'm not able to love this person for who he is."
The queens were then asked if they would rather date a fan or an AFAM (a foreigner assigned in Manila).
Trisha prefers Pinoys over foreigners so she went with dating a fan, "I want to see his perspective of me and I also want to show the true me with or without the crown."
Tala giggled as she pointed out she looks like an AFAM, being half-Australian, but like Trisha, she went with dating a fan.
Related: Binibining Pilipinas 2024 queens share their love languages
"[Fans are] very loving, they show appreciation and give gifts, what more if you became more?" Tala continued. "You would love that idea that this person truly loves you more than the pageantry, you would show your true self and that's beautiful."
Jasmin similarly answered dating a fan for two reasons, the first being a fan sees something good in you and it's a chance to show more of oneself.
"And as a fan of a lot of people, I think it's nice 'yung mga dreams ko in my head could happen to me and I could make it happen for someone," Jasmin explained her second reason.
Myrna began by saying she would not date someone who loves her just because of her physical appearance.
"Sometimes, admiration isn't love and I don't want that. I'd rather date an AFAM than date a fan. I want to receive a pure and genuine love," Myrna chuckled.
She also shared being in a relationship where she was loved just because she's beautiful. She was not sure if he loved her for who she was as a person or for her career.
"I don't want that to happen again, and well, an AFAM has good genes. So, why not?!" Myrna ended with a laugh.
