DFA issues statement on Samantha Lo's delayed trip for Miss Grand International 2019
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Foreign Affairs has released a statement on Friday about why Philippine representative to the 2019 Miss Grand International pageant Samantha Lo has been unable to fly to Venezuela to join in pre-pageant activities.
"The Department of Foreign Affairs received reports that Binibining Pilipinas-Grand International Samantha Ashley Lo was unable to continue her journey to Caracas due to alleged issues with her passport. Based on an ongoing investigation, the DFA confirms that Ms. Lo has no record in the DFA passport database and is continuing the process of ascertaining the facts of the case," DFA said in the statement sent to the press.
The statement came following reports that Samantha had been missing in pre-pageant activities in Caracas. Filipino fans worried about the Cebuana beauty queen's safety and if she backed out from the competition, especially since she has been considered a front-runner by many pageant analysts.
During Miss Philippines International 2019 Bea Patricia Magtanong's send off early this week, Binibining Pilipinas Charities Inc. (BPCI) assured that Samantha is physically safe, as attested by her family, and they are prioritizing her safety above anything else.
BPCI also said that Samantha did not back out from the pageant and promised to release a statement on her pageant journey as soon as possible.
According to ABS-CBN News, last Wednesday, the pageant’s crown maker, Venezuelan jeweler George Wittels, said on Instagram that Samantha was on her way to Venezuela when she was reportedly unable to board her flight from Paris to the South American country.
In his Instagram story on Saturday, George shared a photo of the comments and messages he has been receiving from Samantha's fans.
"So many people concerned about Miss (Philippines), very soon we will have (official) news about her," he said.
He also shared a photo of the tickets to the pageant's preliminary competition on October 23.
If Samantha's passport issue would be resolved very soon, she could still catch up with the preliminary competition since according to airline companies, travel from Manila to Paris and Paris to Caracas would only take approximately two days.
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