The Philippine Online Chronicles

Philippines’ Miss Earth bet Athena Imperial finished third place at last night’s pageant.

Imperial, a 24-year-old native of Casiguran, Aurora and University of the Philippines (UP) graduate, was crowned Miss Water as the pageant’s second runner-up while Ecuador’s Olga Alava was crowned Miss Earth 2011.

It was Brazil’s Dreilly Bennettone who won Miss Air (first runner-up) and Venezuela’s Caroline Medina who was named Miss Fire (third runner-up).

Imperial and the other winners bested 88 other beauties.

Imperial, a Mass Communication graduate from UP, impressed judges with her grasp of environmental issues and excellent communication skills. Before becoming a beauty queen, she was a researcher for an investigative journalism show on GMA 7.

Ecuador’s Alava garnered the judges’ votes by presenting an ecological project to protect her country’s mangroves. She is also a spokeswoman for the protection of the Yasuni biosphere reserve in Ecuador.

Miss Earth’s theme for this year is “Celebrating Forests for People,” a slogan created by Philippine company Carousel to raise awareness about effects of climate change.

The coronation night was held at the UP Theater in Quezon City. It will be aired tonight, 10:30 p.m. at ABS-CBN channel 2.

The pageant was held in the Philippines after Thailand, where it is supposed to be held, was swept by floods.

Imperial said the transfer of the pageant to the Philippines helped her gain more confidence because of the presence of her family and friends. “I (have) conditioned myself to be competing in Thailand for more or less five months now; it could have been my first experience abroad. But a few moments after Carousel Productions revealed that Miss Earth 2011 will be held here in the Philippines, I realized the bright side of it. My relatives and friends who can’t afford and find time to witness the competition abroad because of hectic work schedules will now be able to witness it live. I’d be happy to experience this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity with my family, relatives and friends," she said.