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Pinoys could not be prouder as another Filipino beauty queen takes a national crown. Filipina-Kiwi Victoria Velasquez Vincent won the recently concluded Miss Universe New Zealand and will represent New Zealand in the upcoming Miss Universe pageant.

The 29-year-old beauty queen won against 15 other finalists during the coronation night on September 29.

However, before becoming Miss Universe New Zealand, Victoria first competed in the Miss Universe Philippines in 2021 where she was named Miss Universe Philippines Charity.

Born and raised in New Zealand, the beauty queen was offered to compete in the Miss Universe New Zealand pageant in the same year, but declined, wanting to “serve the Philippines.”

“I had to choose what I know in my heart was the right thing to do,” she said.

She also took a shot at the Miss Universe Philippines crown this year, but only finished in the Top 10 with Chelsea Manalo from Bulacan winning the competition.

TAKE A LOOK AT THE CELEBRITIES WHO ARE ALSO PAGEANT TITLE HOLDERS IN THIS GALLERY:

Before Victoria, it was supposed to be Filipino-Kiwi model and actress Franki Russell who would represent New Zealand in the global pageant. However, she revealed that she was dethroned in August after the Miss Universe organization found issues with her previous films.

In an interview on the online talk show of King of Talk Boy Abunda, Franki admitted that she already knew her title was in jeopardy of being removed because of her previous work and films with Viva, adding that “it came as quite a shock.”

“In my mind, I'm quite an optimist. I always think like, 'Oh, but maybe they just need to see what it really was. And it's art, like they know, they're in the industry,” she said.

However, when it came to the Miss Universe organization, they decided that she could not compete. Josh Yugen, another Filipino who holds multiple pageant titles, tried to fight for her and her title to no avail.

Right now, Franki is representing New Zealand in the Miss Cosmo 2024 pageant instead.

Aside from Victoria, Christina dela Cruz Chalk will be competing in the Miss Universe 2024 pageant representing Great Britain.

The Miss Universe 2024 pageant will take place on November 14 in Mexico with Sheynnis Palacios from Nicaragua relinquishing her crown to her successor.