When Samantha Panlilio wasn't called in the semis of the Miss Grand International, a large part of me kind of expected that and that we were just strung along for the ride.
Nevertheless, I am still at awe and with great pride with the way that Samantha represented the Philippines. She gave us a good fight. Her wardrobe was impeccable, she transformed with what the pageant is looking for in a winner, she delivered in every performance onstage, she was charming and so smart in her interviews, she was in every inch a winner... It just so happen that the pageant organization was blind to all that.
While we can all sour and gripe at the pageant org and owners for toying with the Philippine fandom once again, I personally felt numb that I didn't care what the results were. What I did care is the fact that I still am beaming with pride and that we can all hold our heads high with the way that we were represented by Samantha. That is the takeaway from all this.