MANILA, Philippines – Miss Universe 2011 3rd runner-up Shamcey Supsup said she will always be grateful to Jorge and Stella Araneta, the power couple behind former Miss Universe Philippine franchise holder Binibining Pilipinas Charities, Inc., for giving her the chance to represent the Philippines and the opportunities that came after.

Shamcey is the national director of the Miss Universe Philippines Organization, which will mount the 2020 edition of the pageant. She won the title of Miss Universe Philippines in 2011 when it was still under BPCI, which is headed by Stella.

Speaking to the media during the first press conference of the organization at Empire Studios in Taguig on Wednesday, January 29, Shamcey was about fans who still cannot accept the transfer of the Miss Universe Philippine franchise from BPCI to Miss Universe Philippines.

“For me, to be a product of Binibini… so I would always say na I’m still a Binibini, always a Binibini. And I am really grateful for the opportunity that the Aranetas have given to me and to all of us. We will not be here [without them], so we’re grateful for that. And I feel like we can still support each other, even if we have separate pageants,” Shamcey said.

“I don’t think it should be a rivalry kasi what’s the point of having these pageants. We wanna empower, we don’t want to look down on others or pull down others down. That’s not what we are, that’s not what our direction is.”

Shamcey said she plans to reach out and talk to Aranetas since they are also her wedding godparents.

“They’re really close to me. So I don’t think this will have… magkaroon ng lamat yung (strains in our) relationship. I don’t think we’re gonna go that low. When it comes to pageantry, I hope that everyone would just support each pageant because we have different directions and visions for every girl.”

In December 2019, it was announced that the Miss Universe franchise will no longer be under Binibining Pilipinas Charities Inc for the first time in 55 years. BPCI has conducted the search for representatives since 1964.

Despite losing the Miss Universe Philippines franchise, BPCI said in a statement that they will continue to run the pageant with the remaining titles under their belt. – Rappler.com