Priority requested as Roque and Yap serve as judges at Miss Universe Philippines 2020 amid pandemic

Questions about priorities arose after two prominent public officials served as judges in the recently concluded Miss Universe Philippines 2020 amid an ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque and Rep. Eric do (ACT-CIS party-list) took a break from their official duties when they participated as panelists in the prestigious beauty pageant held at Baguio Country Club.

They were joined by former Miss Universe finalists. Janine Tugonon Y Ariella arida, Co-founder of Frontrow Samuel Salonga Versoza Jr., fashion director Jackie Aquino, CEO of IPG Mediabrands Philippines Venus navalta, Procter & Gamble Group Director for Media Arthur Pena Y Raymond delos Santos.

First Lady of Baguio Arlene magalong, the wife of the local CEO in the city where the preliminaries and grand finale were held, also sat as one of the judges.

The crowned pageant Rabiya Mateo from Iloilo City as the winner who will represent the country in the next Miss Universe after beating 45 candidates from different parts of the country.

Maria Ysabella Ysmael of the city of Parañaque was the first runner-up, followed by Michele Gumabao from the city of Quezon, Pauline Amelinckx from Bohol and Kimberly hakenson by Cavite.

Meanwhile, when the list of judges was previously revealed in the media, some Filipinos questioned the inclusion of two prominent public officials at the event amid an ongoing public health crisis.

“Public servants. In a pandemic and the worst economic crisis of his life”, a Twitter user commented in response to the news.

“Don’t they have other more important things to do like … idk (I don’t know) … keep people from dying ?????????????” other online user he asked in reference to the current COVID-19 pandemic affecting the country.

The Philippines entered the world’s top 20 countries in October with the highest number of coronavirus cases despite being quarantined for 200 days at the time, a fact that drew criticism from some Filipinos.

Independent trackers also noted that the country ranks first with the most infections in the ASEAN region.

As of Monday, the total death of the Philippines has broken the 7,000 mark, four months after it surpassed the 1,000 mark on June 7, according to ABS-CBN data analyst Edson guido.

Politicians as panelists

Meanwhile, a Filipino hoped that the inaugural beauty pageant could “improve” the appearance of the panelists who are tasked with judging the candidates.

“Ito ha, I wish we could let # MissUniversePhilippines2020 improve where they need to work. Aren’t we getting lost, Eric Yap? Harry Roque? Government officials in a contest? This is Miss Universe, not among barangay that needs her significant presence, “said the Twitter user wrote.

Roque in a Facebook post admitted that being a judge in this year’s Miss Universe Philippines was the hardest job he has ever done, even though he is primarily a government official.

“Oh, one of the hardest jobs I’ve ever received. Please keep the promise not to make memes in my photos. We will support our representative in Miss Universe, ”the Palace official wrote on Saturday.

In 2017, Roque showed his interest in the prestigious beauty pageant of retweeting a news article on Miss Universe 2017 Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters marry the star of the National Football League Tim tebow.

Yap, on the other hand, was previously appointed to become the head of the Congress of Benguet, the province where Baguio is geographically located.

It was not the first time that public officials have honored beauty pageants to act as a panelist.

Mayor of Manila Isko Moreno appeared as one of the judges at Miss World Philippines 2019 where he helped crown Michelle Dee, the daughter of Miss International 1979 Melanie marquez.

The second highest official in the country also acted as a judge in the 52nd edition of Binibining Pilipinas, where now Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach emerged as the winner.

Then representative of Camarines Sur Leni Robredo He had asked the beauty queen about her thoughts on internet censorship.

At that time, Robredo has taken the lead in the 2016 vice presidential elections.