Kathleen Joy Paton, 24, of Aklan, Philippines is Miss Eco Philippines 2021. She was crowned during the Miss World Philippines 2021 coronation night in Olongapo City, Philippines on October 3, 2021.

The Miss World Philippines 2021 coronation night was held at the Subic Bay Exhibition and Convention Center in the Subic Special Economic and Freeport Zone in Olongapo City. It was the 10th edition of the national beauty pageant that selects the Philippines’ candidates for Miss World, Miss Eco International and other international beauty pageants.

Born in Boracay, Malay, Aklan, Paton is of Filipino and Australian descent. She was crowned Miss Teen International 2017 in Bangkok, Thailand on September 23, 2017 and Miss Manila 2018 in Ermita, Manila on June 26, 2018.

Paton will represent the Philippines at Miss Eco International 2022 in Egypt. If she wins, she will be the international beauty pageant’s second titleholder from the Philippines following Cynthia Thomalla‘s coronation in 2018.

Reina Hispanoamericana Filipinas 2018 Alyssa Muhlach, 25, hosted the ceremony along with Mister World Asia and Oceania 2019 Jody Baines “JB” Saliba, 28, Xian Lim, 32, and RJ Ledesma. It was broadcast live by KTX.

It was Tracy Maureen Perez, 28, of Cebu City who won the Miss World Philippines 2021 crown. Including her and Paton, 44 candidates competed for seven titles.

The other winners were Reina Hispanoamericana Filipinas 2021 Emmanuelle Vera, 26, of Taguig City, Miss Eco Teen Philippines 2021 Tatyana Alexi Austria, 18, of Parañaque City, Miss Environment Philippines 2021 Michelle Arceo, 23, of Quezon City, Miss Multinational Philippines 2021 Shaila Mae Rebortera, 25, of Cebu and Miss Tourism Philippines 2021 Trisha Martinez, 23, of Laguna. There were 16 judges including Ramon “Bong” Revilla, Jr., 55, Harry Roque, 54, Teejay Marquez, 28, David Licauco, 27, Elise Joson, 25, Global Terminals and Development Inc. managing director Genevieve Christine Montano and Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri, 52, who served as the chairman of the board of judges.

“What is one thing that you need to overcome?” Montano asked Paton in the question-and-answer portion. The Aklan representative said, “One thing that you need to overcome is fear with your confidence and the fear of being rejected.”

“I myself have suffered a lack of confidence when I was younger,” Paton continued. “I wasted a lot of time being stuck at home because I was afraid of going out of my comfort zone and I would tell my younger self even that if I could go back in time to overcome this fear because you have no idea what’s out there and what’s there for you.”