FOR the 100 aspirants for Miss Universe Philippines (MUP) 2021 who passed the initial screening, making it to the Top 30 after hurdling challenge after challenge is like passing through the eye of a needle. After all, they are all aiming for one crown and the right to represent the Philippines at the 70th Miss Universe in Eilat, Israel in December.
For 18-year-old Simone Nadine Bornilla, representing Marinduque, making it to the Top 100 was a win already. Behind her fragile facade, the olive-complexioned teenager is proving to be a strong and tough candidate amid the more seasoned contestants billed from the start as frontrunners. Now the coveted title is a stone’s throw away from her pretty head.
Although Simone is not exactly a newbie — having bagged the Miss Teen International Asia Pacific title in India in 2018 — perhaps what makes her formidable is her parents — her biological dad, Dr. Jumel Bornilla and stepfather, Manuel “Manix” Lara Genabe III, a businessman whose mother, the late Dr. Celeste Lara, was from Mogpog, Marinduque.
Growing up in an unconventional family had never been a problem with Simone, who has always felt the unconditional love of her dads.
“I was taken in by my biological father and my stepfather from my grandmother in Bicol when I was 5 years old. They took me to Manila and raised me there together with my older brother, Jesus Paolo. Our life wasn’t anything extravagant, but my parents definitely pushed themselves harder than they ever could just so we could get there eventually,” Simone shared.
With accepting and supportive friends and relatives around, Simone sailed through life. She applied at an international school, but was denied admission because of her unconventional family. Luckily, Colegio San Agustin-Makati accepted her. She finished her secondary school there. Now, she is an incoming Medical Biology student at De La Salle University in Manila.
“This entire story of mine is what motivates me to keep pushing harder whenever I feel even just a bit of doubt regarding my candidacy in Miss Universe Philippines,” said Simone.
“I’m reminded of why it’s so important for me to do this.
“As a candidate in Miss Universe Philippines, I want to encourage the members of the LGBTQ+ community to raise their voices as well. I want to be able to use my platform to share their stories and fight off those that intend to do harmful crimes towards them.
Because I mean it when I say that I am a strong ally, and this ¹platform gives me the ability to prove just that.”
Simone will face the twenty-nine other Miss Universe Philippines candidates at the Miss Universe Philippines 2021 coronation night on September 25.
