00:00True beauty goes beyond what we see.
00:03At minsan, ang pinakamagandang anyo ng confidence ay ang pagiging komportable at totoo sa sarili.
00:09Kaya naman, kilalani natin ang isang alopecia advocate.
00:13At ang newly crowned winner ng I Am Model Search 2026, Mrs. Category, Ms. Christine Legacion.
00:21Welcome to Rise and Shine, Pilipinas. Ms. Christine.
00:24Hi, good morning Ms. Leslie and good morning Pilipinas.
00:27Good morning sa ating mga ka-RSP.
00:31Thank you so much Rise and Shine for having me here.
00:34It's such an honor and sobrang saya ko po ngayong umaga.
00:37Alas dos ako nagisig na sobrang excited.
00:41Pero nakatulog ka naman ng maayos, Ms. Christine.
00:43O medyo kulang?
00:45Medyo kulang, pero masaya.
00:48Pero masaya ako to be here.
00:50Lalo na kapag yung talagang may pupuntahan ka na something na, you know, na makakatulong sa'yo or like makaka
00:57-inspire ka ng ibang tao.
00:58Speaking of inspiration, grabe, congratulations Ms. Christine.
01:03Napakaganda mo. Ang ganda nung moment ng pagkapanalo mo.
01:06At tapagit mo rin sa akin kanina, this is not your first international pageant.
01:11Yes, grabe.
01:13Nakwentokan mo naman kami about your journey.
01:15Yes, this is actually the second international pageant.
01:19Yung first ko, I competed in Singapore.
01:23And that was my first pageant.
01:25And I also did not expect that I'm gonna be part of the top 10.
01:30Wow.
01:31And then this year, sumali-walit ako because my handler and national director, Mama Franz Ivan, he actually encouraged me
01:40to join.
01:41Actually, I wasn't planning of joining at all.
01:44Sabi ko magpapahinga muna ako kasi nakakapagod din talaga yung pageant.
01:48High heels, rehearsals, you know.
01:51But then again, I said yes and here I am.
01:55So I guess...
01:57Winner.
01:57Yes, I guess it's destiny for me to actually come to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and represent the Philippines again on
02:05international stage.
02:07And more importantly, to inspire my alopecia community and everyone who feels less.
02:15Yes.
02:15Oh, speaking of alopecia, kumusta naman po?
02:20Paano yung journey po natin?
02:23Kailan po natin alaman na nag-start itong pagkakaroon po natin ng alopecia?
02:28Actually, it started at a very young age.
02:30I was like 13 years old when it started.
02:34I just noticed small patches on my head.
02:38And at that time, wala naman akong pakialam masyada.
02:43It wasn't really vain.
02:45Yes.
02:45It wasn't vain about how I look.
02:48So parang, ah, okay lang, nalalagas lang yung buho ko, okay lang.
02:51But my mom was very proactive in, you know, bringing me to the doctors, particularly dermatologists.
02:59But at that time, I think that was 1992, 1993, medyo matagal na at that time, medyo costly na rin
03:06yung pag-consult sa mga dermatologists, especially alopecia.
03:11Because, nung time na yun, wala pang masyadong technology, wala pang masyadong available treatments, ganyan.
03:19So yun, it came to a point in time that we had to stop the treatment and consultations because yun
03:28nga, costly siya.
03:29Um, alopecia is an autoimmune condition.
03:33Sa, for everyone's information, it's an autoimmune condition.
03:38So your immune system mistakenly attacks your hair follicles and that causes hair loss.
03:47In my case, stress could be one of the triggers.
03:52But it can also be caused by different factors such as genes.
03:57Pwede kasi siyang hereditary, yung pattern hair loss na tinatawag.
04:03It can also be because of hormonal imbalance, mga ganun, especially for us women.
04:10And then nutritional deficiencies.
04:13Marami kasing causes eh.
04:14So if you think that you have alopecia, it's always best to consult a doctor or a dermatologist
04:22so that you can undergo necessary tests and mabigyan kayo ng sapat na kaalaman at mabigyan kayo ng treatment.
04:31Because yung sakin, tinigil ko yung treatment.
04:34And then from small, bald patches, nagprogress siya to, you know, to mas malalang alopecia.
04:41I lost the hair on my scalp and then eventually all over the body.
04:48Okay.
04:49So all over the body pala diyas ko.
04:51Okay.
04:52So sa tingin mo, Miss Christine, what was the most challenging part or like the hardest part of having alopecia?
04:58I think the hardest part would be feeling mo hindi katanggap ng mga tao, hindi katanggap ng society.
05:09Kasi there was a point in time na talagang I was bullied heavily, especially at school.
05:19And then every time I go out in public, laki akong tinitingnan ng mga tao, like the judge nila ako
05:29because of how I look.
05:31And that's when I realized na, ay, big deal pala talaga yung itsura mo.
05:37Especially nung mga panahon na yun, like 1990s.
05:40Kasi ngayon medyo mas open na tayo.
05:42Yes.
05:42Thank God, di ba?
05:43Mas open na tayo sa mga...
05:44Mas makakaintindi na yung mga tao.
05:46Yes, makakaintindi na.
05:47Ang ganito pala ang sitwasyon.
05:49Yes.
05:50That's why promoting awareness and education about alopecia and other conditions is necessary.
05:56That's when I realized, I have to do something.
06:00Wow.
06:00Okay.
06:01Not just for myself, but more importantly, for my fellow alopecia warriors, especially yung mga maliliit na bata.
06:07Because it can really start at a very young age.
06:11I had mine when I was 13.
06:13Malaki na ako na, may mali na ako, mahirap.
06:15But what more for small children?
06:18Exactly.
06:18So, that's when I started my advocacy.
06:21Before joining din yung mga international pageants, you know, I was looking for the proper platform to actually promote awareness
06:29and education about alopecia.
06:32Nag-join din ako ng mga national pageants.
06:35Maybe I can't, um, I can't mention, I can't mention the name, but it's a fitness pageant also in the
06:43Philippines.
06:44Okay.
06:44I joined several times and then yun, nag-international pageant na tayo.
06:51Ang galing, Ms. Christine.
06:52Now, naman, bilang isang alopecia advocate, ano naman yung gusto mong maintindihan ng mga tao na hindi alam yung tungkol
07:00dito sa condition ito?
07:02Yes.
07:02That's why I really want to continue my advocacy to promote awareness and education about alopecia.
07:09Because only through having enough knowledge about the condition that we can also understand people who go through hair loss
07:17like alopecia.
07:19Kasi kung mas naiintindihan natin yung condition itself, mas makakatulong tayo.
07:27So, maintindihan din natin yung mga tao na nahihirapan because of the condition.
07:33Like, hindi naman nila ginusto yun.
07:36Exactly.
07:37Nalagas lang talaga yung hair.
07:39So, it would hurt them so badly.
07:41Kagaya nga nang naranasan ko.
07:42It would hurt me so badly if someone bullies me in public.
07:47Like, pano at kalpo?
07:49Because I've experienced that so many times.
07:52And every time, it would really break my heart.
07:56Pero I didn't stop.
07:57Ang sabi ko, there will come a time that I will be on stage.
08:00I will be in a certain platform to actually raise my alopecia community.
08:06Because our worth is not defined by hair loss.
08:09Our worth is not defined by our physical imperfections, by our insecurities.
08:14Because if you have faith in God and you pursue your happiness without stepping on anyone,
08:21you can be anyone, anything that you want to be.
08:24Yun.
08:26Well, ito na nga.
08:28Ano ba yung mga susunod mo pang plano after this?
08:32After na maging winner ng I Am Model Search, Mrs. International?
08:36Yes.
08:37So, for a year, I will be reigning as the winner of Mrs. Category ng I Am Model Search 2026.
08:43So, I'm going to savor each and every moment of my reign for one year.
08:47And, of course, palalawigin natin yung ating advocacy for alopecia awareness and education.
08:56And also, I would like to build like an online community for widows.
09:01Oh, that's nice.
09:02Why for widows?
09:03Because I recently got widowed, Ms. Leslie.
09:06Okay.
09:06I lost my husband four months ago, just four months ago, due to his heart failure condition.
09:15So, isa din yun sa mga factors why I decided to go to Kuala Lumpur and represent the Philippines.
09:23Because I think me being so busy about the pageant preparation and, you know, promoting my advocacies is actually part
09:34of, you know, me moving on.
09:37I don't want to say part of grief, but it's part of me moving on.
09:41So, I would like to build a community also for widows.
09:45And also, I'd like to push for something in relation to affordable, compassionate health care for Filipinos.
09:54Because I think this was one of the things that my late daddy and my late husband did not have
10:00when they were getting treatments for, you know, before they passed.
10:05Grabe yung pinagdaanan ni Ms. Cristino.
10:08Grabe din yung tapang na ipinakita mo at confidence na ipinakita mo.
10:12And with that, maraming maraming salamat sa pagpapaunlak po ng aming imbitasyon na mag-guest po kayo dito sa Rise
10:21and Shine, Pilipinas.
10:22And hopefully, no, mas marami pa pong babae, bata, kung sino man po ang nakakaranas ng ganitong sitwasyon, ma-inspired
10:30pa po sa inyo, no.
10:31Sa ating newly crowned winner ng I Am Model Surge 2026, Mrs. Category, Ms. Christine Tagastron.
10:37Thank you so much.
10:38Thank you, Ms. Christine.
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