EMBED FROM NEWSCUTTER: qanda1 Binibining Pilipinas proclaimed its new queens this year in a grand event held at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Sunday night. Mary Jean Lastimosa, a 26-year-old beauty from North Cotabato, was crowned as the successor of Ariella Arida at the coronation night. She will represent the Philippines in the 2014 Miss Universe pageant. But before Lastimosa’s coronation, the pageant’s Top 15 contestants vied for the crown as they attempted to give the best response during the question and answer portion of the competition. Below is the full transcript of the Q&A segment of last night’s event: Question from Mexican Ambassador to the Philippines Julio Camarena: What city in the world do you think best suits your character and why? Bb. #11 Laura Lehmann: I think the city in the world that best suits my character would be Amsterdam. I love the city. It’s very liberal. People are able to have fun and yet they follow rules at the same time. It is a city that I would like to visit one day. It is a city that definitely represents my fun personality. Question from Sofitel general manager Adam Laker: As a beauty pageant contestant, what would you say to people who lack confidence that you have? Bb. #1 Julian Aurine Flores: What I would say to the people who lack confidence is to trust yourself. It is by then that people will believe in you and when people believe in you, they will love you. That is all, thank you. Question from DTI Secretary Gregory Domingo: Should you win one of the titles, how would you use your crown to push for your advocacy? Bb. #22 Mary Jane Bianca Guidotti: If I win a title, I would use my crown to influence people to adopt their own advocacies. I want people to be passionate about it—something that is really close to their heart. I will someday hopefully make an NGO of my own. Someday, hopefully, I will make an NGO of my own." Question from Miss International 1979 Melanie Marquez: There is a song saying ‘All you need is love.’ Apart from love, what else do you think we need? Bb. #3 Joana Angelica Romero: Thank you so much for that wonderful question. I think aside from love, all we need is beauty. Beauty is not about physical appearance alone. It is about what is inside of you. It is how you share, how you inspire other people and through that, we can achieve unity. And it goes on and on and on. Question from Miss Universe 2013 Gabriela Isler: March is the women’s month. For you, what is the greatest advantage of being a woman? Bb. #25 Mary Jean Lastimosa: The greatest advantage of being a woman is being able to compose herself. Just like here, we're standing in front of thousands of people, not knowing if you're going to cheer for us or boo us. But we try to compose ourselves. We keep the emotions and show the beauty that is in us and tonight, thousands of people are standing here, celebrating the beauty of women. Question from Senator Juan Edgardo Angara: Ano yung pinakamagandang leksyon na maituturo ng isang babae sa buong miundo? Bb. #8 Pia Wurtzbach: Ang isang leksyon na maituturo ng babae sa buong mundo ay ang tiwala sa kanyang sarili, yung intuition po na tinatawag natin. Kapag meron kang intuition, alam mo kung saan mo ilulugar ang sarili mo. Kahit na hindi ka sigurado sa nararamdaman mo or naiisip pero kung alam mo sa intuition mo, magiging successful ka sa kahit anong gawin mo sa buhay mo. Question from ABS-CBN broadcast journalist Korina Sanchez: As a Binibini, you must be updated about the events happening around you. What particular current event or latest news affects you the most and why? Bb. #4 Parul Shah: I'll have to say it's [the news] about the Malaysia Airlines [flight] that went down. My sincere love and compassion goes out to all the families who lost their love ones. All I can say is that we shouldn't lose faith in God. Question from ABS-CBN channel head Cory Vidanes: Do you think that being a beauty queen is a plus or a minus in landing a serious job in the corporate world? Bb. #23 Nichole Marie Manalo: For me, being a beauty queen is an advantage because if you have the beauty, you have this ability to inspire and influence other people. You have this beauty in you that you can use to share your talent, your skills and your resources and in that way, it is an advantage for you work. EMBED FROM NEWSCUTTER: qanda2 Question from Megaworld's Kevin Tan: If you’re given a chance to talk before an international audience, what would you tell them about Filipino heroism? Bb. #16 Zahara Mae Soriano: As a Filipino, I am proud to be a Filipino and… I can say that we have modern heroes that are the OFWs who sacrifice their life, their family to go abroad and work for their family. That’s the only thing that I want to say to foreigners or to international visitors. Question from Miss Universe 1973 Margie Moran: I'm certain that you watch all the international beauty pageants especially the Miss Universe. In your opin