Miss Iloilo City was asked "If you could create a new paper currency with an image of any Filipino on it, dead or alive, who and why?"
The winning Miss Universe answered by saying "I want to use the face of Miriam Defensor Santiago. For those who do not know, she was an Ilongga. But what I admire about her is she used her knowledge, her voice to serve the country. And I want to be someone like her - somebody who puts her her heart, her passion into action. After all, she is the best President that we never had."
The 23-year-old Miss Iloilo City, Miss Rabiya Mateo was crowned by former Miss Universe Philippines titlist Gazini Ganados vesting the other finalists.
The rest of the Top 5 were ranked as follows:
1st runner-up: Maria Ysabella "Bella" Ysmael, Parañaque
2nd runner-up: Michele Gumabao, Quezon City
3rd runner-up: Pauline Amelinckx, Bohol
4th runner-up: Kimberly "Billie" Hakenson, Cavite
The Filipina-Indian beauty queen Rabiya Mateo became the first title-holder to win under the Miss Universe Philippines organization.
During the preliminary interview with Miss Iloilo, Rabiya Mateo said that the youth should "invest in themselves," particularly because of the noise that's all too common both online and in real life.
In an earlier interview Rabiya revealed that she grew up poor. Her father had left them, leaving her mother alone in trying to support their family.
Before joining the prestigious beauth pageant, Rabiya works as a physical theraphy lecturer and is part of a charity that helps educate children who live near a dumpsite in Iloilo City.
Reviewed by Phil Newsome
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October 26, 2020
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