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CITY OF BAGUIO, Benguet, Philippines – By claiming that the late Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago was “the best president the Philippines ever had,” Rabiya Mateo of Iloilo City impressed juries and won the Miss Universe Philippines crown on a prerecorded program on Baguio city on the weekend.
The 24-year-old physical therapy graduate was crowned after a closed-door recording of the final that began Friday night and lasted until 3 a.m. the next day in the Baguio Convention Hall of the Baguio Country Club.
The show aired on free television and aired globally on digital platforms on Sunday. It was the first time that a large contest was held without a live audience due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Mateo beat out 45 other candidates to represent the country in the 2020 Miss Universe pageant, the date and location of which have yet to be announced.
When asked to explain his choice to put a piece of paper money, Mateo said: “What [Santiago] it was that he used his knowledge, his voice to serve the country. And I want to be someone like her. Someone who puts his heart, his passion into action. ”The late senator was an Ilongga or Iloilo native like Mateo.
When asked, in the final round of questions, where are the contests in times of a pandemic, Mateo said: “As a candidate, I know that I am not only the face of the city of Iloilo, but that I am here carrying hope, and a symbol of light in the darkest times. And from this moment on, I want to help my community. I want to use my strength to make an impact. And that is the essence of beauty pageants. It gives us the power to make a difference. “
Mateo graduated cum laude with a BA in Physical Therapy from Iloilo Doctors College. She works as a lecturer and review coordinator at SRG Manila Review Center.
The new beauty queen was hailed best in a bathing suit, while her runner-up, Ysabella Ysmael, was proclaimed best in an evening gown. In her first foray into pageants, Mateo took the top crown at the 2020 Miss Iloilo beauty pageant.
Photos from the coronation were leaked Saturday showing each of the top five candidates wearing a crown and sash, prompting contest host KC Montero to reveal that multiple finals were filmed “to avoid spoilers.”
“Obviously, if we could have done it live, we would have. Do you think it was easy to do what we did? [It’s] almost impossible to organize an event with all these candidates from all over the Philippines in Baguio during a pandemic. To be honest, I was quite surprised that they could pull it off, “he said.
All the candidates, along with the organizers and the contest staff, had to obtain authorization from the Interagency Task Force against COVID-19 before traveling to this city for the contest activities.
Two candidates withdrew earlier after testing positive for COVID-19.
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