Samantha Lo: I hope to bring home crown, glory to the Philippines and our people

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Samantha Lo: I hope to bring home crown, glory to the Philippines and our people

Rob Reyes

'Despite what happened last week and the trauma that came with it, I have moved forward and pursued this journey,' says Samantha, who finally arrived in Venezuela

MANILA, Philippines — After keeping quiet for almost a week, Binibining Pilipinas Grand International 2019 Samantha Lo took to Instagram early Sunday, October 20, to clear the story on what happened during her transit to Venezuela for the Miss Grand International pageant.

In a lengthy post, Samantha said that she chose to remain silent first and speak up only when she arrived in Venezuela. 

“I know people have been waiting to hear from me but this past week has been such a rollercoaster of stress and uncertainty that I felt it was unnecessary to involve the public,” said.

“I chose to break my silence until I arrived in Venezuela because I wanted to make sure I got here safely. Despite what happened last week and the trauma that came with it, I have moved forward and pursued this journey knowing that I did not intentionally commit any of the acts that have been unfairly attributed to me. But yes, my local organizer, who handled my travel preparations, failed to equip me with the proper transit visa that may have enabled me to complete my earlier trip to this host country. Moreso, it wasn’t them who got me out of detention and put me safely on that plane to come back home. It was my family and other well-meaning Filipinos who did — and they are still not resting until this is over.”

Samantha said that it has not been easy in the past few days considering what she endured. However, she’s determined to do her best in the competition. (READ: Samantha Lo on Miss Grand International 2019 pageant: I’m going to bring that crown home)

“And when this is all over, I hope to bring home the crown and glory to the Philippines and our people. It is not easy for me to do this — I still struggle with the fear and the trauma of recent days — but I know there is a bigger picture here and I will not let such fear silence me or deter me from the grand task ahead. 

“I have come here not only as the candidate from the Philippines but as the voice of those who have faced similar situations like mine, the voice of those who have been abandoned of opportunity and pressured to remain silent,” she said.

She thanked the Miss Grand International Organization for welcoming her despite what happened and showing nothing but support.

 

View this post on Instagram

I know people have been waiting to hear from me but this past week has been such a rollercoaster of stress and uncertainty that I felt it was unnecessary to involve the public. I chose to break my silence until I arrived in Venezuela because I wanted to make sure I got here safely. Despite what happened last week and the trauma that came with it, I have moved forward and pursued this journey knowing that I did not intentionally commit any of the acts that have been unfairly attributed to me. But yes, my local organizer, who handled my travel preparations, failed to equip me with the proper transit visa that may have enabled me to complete my earlier trip to this host country. Moreso, it wasn’t them who got me out of detention and put me safely on that plane to come back home. It was my family and other well-meaning Filipinos who did – and they are still not resting until this is over. And when this is all over, I hope to bring home the crown and glory to the Philippines and our people. It is not easy for me to do this – I still struggle with the fear and the trauma of recent days – but I know there is a bigger picture here and I will not let such fear silence me or deter me from the grand task ahead. I have come here not only as the candidate from the Philippines but as the voice of those who have faced similar situations li ke mine, the voice of those who have been abandoned of opportunity and pressured to remain silent. To Miss Grand International who has welcomed me with open arms, you are an amazing organization that has showed me nothing but compassion and humanity from the very beginning. Thank you for accepting me and giving me the opportunity to represent my country. Your Miss Grand International Philippines, Samantha Ashley Lo . . Designer @raus1983 MUA @theleiponce Hairstylist @iammjrone Accessories by @christophermunar Heels by @_jeffersonsi . . . #missgrandinternationalphilippines #missgrandinternational #giveSAMLOve #forthephilippines

A post shared by Samantha Lo (@samantha_ashley_lo) on

Samantha also posted on her Instagram stories a photo of the Venezuelan airport.

Samantha left for the competitionlast October 9 . But pageant fans were puzzled and worried when she was not spotted in the sashing ceremony and was absent in the pre-pageant activities.

Earlier, the Department of Foreign Affairs in a statement said that Samantha had no record in the Philippine passport database and that they were looking into the matter. — Rappler.com

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