By Jerome S. Galunan, Jr.

A beauty queen from Leon, Iloilo recently earned a gold medal in the secondary girls high jump event at the ongoing 2017 Palarong Pambansa in Antique.
Registering a leap of 1.63m, Alexie Mae Caimoso Brooks fell short of the 1.66m record, set last year by Cherry Mae Banatao of the Cagayan Valley Region.
Last year, Brooks competed in the Miss Teen Iloilo pageant. She was also previously crowned Mutya ng Buga 2013 and Miss Buga 2015.
The Buga National High School student, who has never met her biological father, believed to be an American, said the Palarong Pambansa can possibly provide the opportunity to connect with him./WDJ