NEWLY crowned Miss Eco International 2025 Alexie Brooks of the Philippines forged a deep friendship with the Thai and Indonesian bets in the pageant in Egypt, forming the “Trinity Dai” sisterhood that she hopes will help foster a more positive atmosphere in global pageantry.
Pageant fans from the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia are some of the most passionate, but they are also some of the most toxic, often hurling insults at each other countries’ bets in online forums. Brooks hopes to see a kinder community in the future.
“When we’re competing, usually pinag-aaway ang tao, and it’s the cause of bashing into that. But sometimes, we the girls, we’re just there to have fun,” she told INQUIRER.net in an interview upon her arrival at the Terminal 3 of Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Pasay City on Monday evening, April 21.
Brooks won the Miss Eco International 2025 crown in the global pageant’s 10th edition held at the AlZahraa Ballroom of Hilton Green Plaza in Alexandria, Egypt, on April 19 (April 20 in Manila), inheriting the title from last year’s winner Angelina Usanova from Ukraine.
The Ilongga national athlete said the delegates represent diverse types of beauty.
“At the end of the day, a pageant is really a sisterhood, it’s a celebration of women, and empowerment of women. So I really hope [we stop] comparing people to one another, especially the girls,” Brooks pleaded.
She was often seen having fun with her eventual first runner-up Yulinar Fitriani from Indonesia and Thailand’s Natthan Kunchayawanut, teaching them Filipino and IIonggo terms, even calling each other “Dai” (sis), thus earning the monicker “Trinity Dai” from pageant fans.
Their bond, well-documented on each other’s social media pages, delighted pageant fans from the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesian and even other nations.
“These three countries, we’re super competitive. But on our end, us three became friends,” Brooks said, even sharing that they would not eat when one of them was missing, and would always check each other’s whereabouts.
Brooks meanwhile said she has not yet discussed in detail with Dr. Amaal Rezk, Miss Eco International founder, how her yearlong reign will go about. The pageant promotes “eco-tourism and sustainability aligned with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals for 2030,” its website says.
“As I mentioned, my grandma just died. And I don’t have anyone left. So I would love to dedicate my life to bigger causes,” Brooks said. Her “Lola Basing,” her only remaining family member, passed away weeks after she was crowned as The Miss Philippines-Eco International at the conclusion of the Miss Universe Philippines pageant in May last year. (Armin P. Adina © Philippine Daily Inquirer)
