MANILA, Philippines – Miss International 2016 Kylie Verzosa said that she’s excited about what Binibining Pilipinas Charities Incorporated (BPCI) will do in the competition as the 40 candidates vie for the Miss International title on May 31.

In an interview with Rappler after speaking at the Women 2020 Summit at the Samsung Hall in SM Aura on Thursday, March 5, Kylie said she loves that the Miss International is getting the recognition as the new crown to win in Bb Pilipinas.

“I love the fact that Miss International is the top crown for Binibini, though we  have to take into consideration…for me, it was culture that was lost since Miss Universe is no longer part of Binibini,” she said refering to the Miss Universe franchise, which is now with another organization.

“But change is always difficult in the beginning and change is also something good. I am excited to see what Binibini does and honestly, I do hope they highlight Miss International more, because we in Miss International took care of the brand so much. And I think that it’s time to take the spotlight,” she said.

The actress also said she’s flattered that a lot of the candidates and Miss International titleholders see her reign as the inspiration to follow.

She also said that she had seen some of the photos of the 2020 candidates, and that she wanted another Miss International crown for the Philippines.

“I want another crown for the Philippines. And I think we have a bigger chance at getting another crown since we have so much quality girls competing in Binibini [who] are aiming for the Miss International crown. So I do hope that we choose the best candidate from the Philippines to bring home another Miss International crown, and I am very flattered that they still copy some of what I did, but I hope the girl brings her own spice into the competition,” she said.

Aside from the Miss International title, other crowns at stake are Bb Pilipinas Supranational, Bb Pilipinas Grand International, Bb Pilipinas Intercontinental, and Bb Pilipinas Globe. 

MMFF movie and mental health advocacy 

Kylie will have a busy schedule this coming summer as she starts promoting the movie Love The Way U Lie, starring Xian Lim and Alex Gonzaga as part of the first Summer Metro Manila Film Festival. 

“The movie is a rom-com and it’s about a husband who can’t move on from the death of his wife and tries to find a new love. I am the wife who died and tawagin na natin na tulay (let’s call her the bridge between the two of them),” she said of the film.

She shared that she would be doing her first solo movie, a Korean remake, sometime in 2020. Aside from the movies, she will also continue working on her mental health advocacy.

“I wanna for my advocacy to just redirect it a bit ,because I’ve done everything, I’ve set goals and I believe I’ve done everything for the past two years with regards to my advocacy. I want to focus on the same advocacy but a different route. Maybe [a] holistic treatment of mental health,” she said. –Rappler.com