Karen Ibasco wins the Miss Earth 2017 crown on Saturday, Nov. 5, in at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
She was crowned by outgoing queen Katherine Espin from Ecuador.
The 26-year-old licensed physicist and university instructor from Manila beat 84 other contestants in the 17th edition of the prestigious international pageant
For the final question and answer, the candidates were asked:
“Who or what do you think is the biggest enemy of Mother Earth and why?”
Ibasco replied: “I believe that the real problem is not climate change. The real problem is us, because of our ignorance and apathy. What we have to do is to start changing our ways, to start recalibrating our minds and redirecting our steps. Because together as a global community our micro efforts will have a macro effect to help save our home, our planet.”
Before Ibasco, three other Filipinos won the crown – Karla Henry in 2008, Jamie Herrell in 2014, and Angelia Ong in 2015.
Photo credit: ABS-CBN News
