Miss Earth 2017 has officially been going on for a week and if there’s one group that feels the brunt of the competition the most, it’s Group 3. Only a couple of days since taking part in their Talent competition, the group travelled to Tarlac and Batangas for their beach-themed challenges. That’s two regions, North and South of Manila, in just two days!

Group 3’s Resorts Wear competition took place on October 13 at the Ninoy Aquino Event Center in Tarlac City. 29 candidates competed, including China‘s Mei Zhan, who missed the Talent competition, and Sri Lanka‘s Shyana Dahanayaka, who was a late arrival.

Ukraine‘s Diana Minorenko won Bronze, while USA‘s Andreia Girbau won Silver for her bouncy catwalk. But it was Vietnam‘s effervescent Ha Thu who charmed her way  to the top once again. Though not a pre-pageant favorite, the Ho Chi Minh City native quickly caught on thanks to her hard-to-miss bubbly persona. With her 1st Place (Gold Medal) finish, she now leads the overall Medal Tally at this point.

The aforementioned group’s Swimsuit Competition took place in Pontefino Hotels in Batangas, where new favorites emerged. Stand outs in this round were Bolivia‘s Giancarla Fernandez, Bosnia and Herzegovina‘s Lela Karagic, and Rwanda’s Uwase Hirma Honorine, who curiously opted to wear a dress in lieu of a bikini. The reason remains unclear.

Sponsor awards were then announced. Northern Ireland‘s Marie Lynch, a 19-year-old blogger, won Miss Pontefino Estates, while Ukraine‘s Diana Minorenko, who garnered Bronze in Resorts Wear the night before, won Miss Pontefino Hotel.

Much to the consternation of many, USA’s catwalk diva garnered only a Bronze medal. Nonetheless, this is already Andreia‘s second medal. Stunning Swiss Miss Sarah Laura Peyrel garnered Silver. And winning Gold was Puerto Rico‘s ultra-confident Karla Aponte, who had earlier won Miss JACMI sponsor award.

May this victory serve as a tiny glimmer of hope for her island, which was battered by Hurricane Irma a few weeks ago.