Athena Mae Duarte Imperial-Rodriguez (born February 2, 1987) is a Filipino news field reporter, communication researcher and beauty pageant titleholder. She competed in the eleventh edition of the national Miss Philippines Earth beauty pageant where she emerged as the winner and was crowned Miss Philippines Earth 2011. She was crowned Miss Earth-Water 2011 during the coronation night of the Miss Earth 2011 pageant held in the Philippines.

Personal life and career

Imperial was born on February 2, 1987, in

Legazpi, Albay Legazpi (, American Spanish: , European Spanish: ), officially the City of Legazpi (; ), is a Component City, component city and capital of the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Albay, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a ...

, but grew up in Casiguran, Aurora. She is the eldest child of Angel Imperial, a Philippine National Food Authority employee, and the former Mercy Duarte, a

housewife A housewife (also known as a homemaker or a stay-at-home mother/mom/mum) is a woman whose role is running or managing her family's home—housekeeping, which may include Parenting, caring for her children; cleaning and maintaining the home; Sew ...

. Formerly, she worked as a researcher and writer for GMA television network's investigative

news magazine A news magazine is a typed, printed, and published magazine, radio, or television program, usually published weekly, consisting of articles about current events. News magazines generally discuss stories in greater depth than newspapers or new ...

show, '' Reporter's Notebook''. She is a news anchor and senior correspondent at GMA News TV. On April 2, 2018, Imperial married stock market advocate John Ben Rodriguez.

Pageantry

Miss Philippines Earth 2011

Imperial joined and represented Casiguran, Aurora in the national Miss Philippines Earth 2011. She was one of the initial 50 candidates, and after a series of four eliminations, she was announced as one of the final 10 finalists during the talent and cultural costume competitions at Thunderbird Resorts in Binangonan, Rizal. In the final competition of the Miss Philippines Earth 2011, she competed and achieved one of the five highest scores in the swimsuit, and

evening gown An evening gown, evening dress or gown is a long dress usually worn at formal occasions. The drop ranges from Ballerina skirt, ballerina (mid-calf to just above the ankles), Tea length, tea (above the ankles), to Skirt length, full-length. S ...

competitions for her stage chops and question and answer portion of the pageant. At the conclusion of the pageant, she won and was crowned Miss Philippines Earth 2011. She was crowned by the outgoing Miss Philippines Earth 2011 titleholder, Psyche Resus on June 5, 2011, at the Puerto Princesa City Coliseum in Palawan. She also won the People's Choice award. After her feat in the Miss Philippines Earth pageant, the governor of the

Philippine province In the Philippines, provinces ( or ) are one of its primary political and administrative divisions. There are 82 provinces at present, which are further subdivided into component cities and municipalities. The local government units in the ...

Aurora An aurora ( aurorae or auroras), also commonly known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis), is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly observed in high-latitude regions (around the Arc ...

remarked that Imperial would someday follow in her footsteps as governor and said: ''"Every time I heard her speak, I told myself one day she will become governor of Aurora,"'' because Imperial has a good political persona and given that she is a graduate of the country's premiere school, the

University of the Philippines The University of the Philippines (UP; ) is a Higher education in the Philippines#State universities and colleges, state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by List of Philippine laws, Re ...

, where the Angaras had learned the hard knocks of life.

Miss Earth 2011

Imperial finished third place during the coronation night of the Miss Earth 2011 beauty pageant held December 3, 2011, at the University of the Philippines Theater, Diliman, Quezon City. She was crowned Miss Earth - Water.

References

External links