Beating the odds: The triumphant journey of Miss International Philippines 2025 Myrna Esguerra through hardship

When Myrna Toribio Esguerra represents the Philippines at Miss International 2025 in Tokyo on Nov. 27, she will be armed with not just the hopes of the Filipino people but also with a lifetime of hard work and determination. 

One of 17 siblings, Esguerra learned from a young age that if she wanted something, she had to find a way to get it for herself. That is exactly what she aims to do during her first foray on the world stage. 

A childhood of struggle

Growing up in Pigidan, Abra, Esguerra knew how it was to fight for survival. In a video posted on her YouTube channel in August, Esguerra recalled times when she woke up in the morning and there was no food in her house. 

“On those days, pupunta ‘ko sa bahay ng mga kamag-anak namin to find something that I could eat. But if they don’t have, either, I will try to borrow money or sama-sama kami ng mga kapatid kong mangangalakal,” Esguerra said. 

She recalled one rainy day when she was seven that taught her one painful truth about life. Esguerra was walking alone to school when it started raining hard. 

“I didn’t notice that I was crying already. I couldn’t help but ask, ‘Bakit ‘yung ibang bata hinahatid sa school?’ Kasi bata lang din ako, eh. And I needed my parents to do the same thing [for me] na ginagawa sa ibang bata,” Esguerra said. 

“That made me understand that life is not all about rainbows and unicorns. Sa buhay, meron ding hirap,” she continued.

Education was not a priority in the Esguerra household. The children learned that if they wanted to go to school, they had to find their own way to go. 

And so Esguerra did. 

Using her platform as Miss Abra 2023 to advocate for education for all children  Myrna Esguerra / Facebook

When she was in Grade 4, she sold banana cue, kamote cue, and fresh lumpia to earn money for her school requirements and projects. In Grade 9, she worked part-time at a hotel and, later on, in a coffee shop as a cashier. During the pandemic, Esguerra became an online seller of clothes.

For college, she moved to Angeles, Pampanga to take up tourism management, with a specialization in MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions) events at City College of Angeles.

It was then that she became financially independent, juggling her studies with work as a freelance model, event host, and event organizer. 

Training to be a beauty queen

When Esguerra was nine, she watched a local barangay pageant, saw the women in their shimmery gowns and flawless makeup, and said to herself, “One day, ako naman ang nandiyan sa stage.”

Her wish turned prophetic, though it would take years to fully realize her dream. 

Esguerra joined her first beauty pageant when she was in Grade 8, which she lost. She then finished as first runner-up in subsequent pageants she joined in Grade 9 (a barangay pageant), Grade 10 (a city-wide pageant), and, in 2019 (a province-wide pageant). 

In the same year, Esguerra traveled to Cubao, Quezon City to join the Miss Teen Philippines pageant, but she failed to make even the first cut. 

“That is when my heart broke because of pageantry. After that, I took a break from pageants,” said Esguerra. 

Three years later, heart mended, she returned to the world of beauty pageants. She joined a city pageant, where she placed fourth runner-up. 

It was then that her uncle suggested she join the Miss Abra 2023 pageant. Esguerra jumped at the chance. Since she was still in college then, she had to shuttle between Abra for the pageant preparations and Angeles for school. 

Myrna Esguerra at 22, winning the Miss Abra 2023 pageant  Myrna Esguerra / Facebook

At Miss Abra 2023, she represented her hometown of Pigidan and won. 

True to her determined nature, Esguerra then approached the local government of Abra to ask for their support in her bid for the Binibining Pilipinas title in 2024. The LGU said yes right away. 

“After all those years of hearing, ‘No,’ and ‘You’re not what we’re looking for,’ I found a beautiful reason why God kept me waiting for years…God was preparing me for something greater, and that is representing the Philippines in Miss International 2025,” Esguerra said. 

From national to international

Esguerra joining Binibining Pilipinas—the country’s biggest beauty pageant—was a milestone not just for her but for Abra. It was the first time the landlocked province was represented in the national pageant.

At the Binibining Pilipinas 2024 pageant, Esguerra earned the nickname “Hakot Queen” for the multiple awards she received throughout the night: Best in National Costume, Best in Swimsuit, Best in Evening Gown, plus two awards from the pageant’s sponsors. 

The Dulimaman, Myrna Esguerra’s national costume at the Bb. Pilipinas 2024 pageant  Myrna Esguerra / Facebook

Her national costume was particularly striking. She wore a woven masterpiece named the Dulimaman, after the heroine of the Tinguian people of Abra. The gown, designed by Richard Strandz, was also a tribute to Esguerra’s mother, who raised 13 children on income earned as a basket weaver. 

In the Q&A round, Miss Universe 1973 Margie Moran, as one of the judges, asked Esguerra, “If a time machine brings you back to 1964, 60 years ago when Binibining Pilipinas began, what message would you tell the Filipino women of that time about the women of 2024?”

Esguerra was quick to reply, “I will tell to the women of the past that we have achieved our goal, which is to empower women. Standing here at the age of 17, I started to finance for my own studies and help my family financially.”

“I was able to do this by all those women who paved the way to empower us to always reach for our goals, no matter what it is,” she continued. 

Esguerra was on a roll. Three weeks after winning the Binibining Pilipinas Miss International 2024 title, she graduated from college.

Myrna Esguerra’s crowning moment as Bb. Pilipinas International 2024  Myrna Esguerra / Facebook

To prepare for the 63rd Miss International pageant, Esguerra brushed up on her communication skills and continued working with organizations connected to her advocacies, which are education and sustainability. 

Aside from working with publishing houses and World Vision Philippines, she also participated in several cleanup drives for National Cleanup Coalition Philippines, made up of non-government environmental organizations, government agencies, and local government units nationwide. 

At the Miss International 2025 pageant, Esguerra joins 79 other delegates. 

She has one message to the Filipino people: “Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao, Buong Pilipinas, samahan niyo po akong ilaban ang ating bansa, ang minamahal kong Pilipinas.”