Silvia Celeste Cortesi may have won the Miss Philippines Earth 2018 with her own hardwork and diligence, but the true credit for Philippines receiving this beauty queen lies with Cortesi’s Pinay mother.

Her mother was the one who encouraged and pushed her to take part in the competition.

 “My mom pushed me to participate in this pageant. My motivation is because my dream was to be here in the Philippines and to work here in the Philippines. I chose this pageant because it’s not only [about one’s] beauty,” she said as she talked to a Pinay news portal.

 “It’s my first time here in the Philippines and I went here without knowing the language,” she said. “It was really hard to be here. And English is also not comfortable for me,” explained Cortesi.

Photo Credit: Silvia Celeste Cortesi Instagram

Nonetheless, Cortesi is determined to learn the Filipino language and to undergo more training to be able to represent the country better at Miss Earth 2018.

“I did my best [in this pageant]. Thank you so much for the trust and thank you to all the people who supported me every day,” she said. “I will learn. I also want to speak Tagalog. I’m just so happy now.”

When asked why she chose to join a pageant in the Philippines instead of in Italy, Cortesi said: “My dream is to be here. I want to represent the Philippines. I want to stay here for work. This is the reason.”

According to her profile on the pageant's website, her advocacy centers around preserving trees.

Celeste is the first contestant from Filipino communities abroad to win the title. In Miss Earth Philippines, contestants represent different cities and towns, as well as Filipino communities based abroad. While contestants from Filipino communities have made it to the top 5 in the past, it's the first for someone from the group to have the honour of representing the country in the Miss Earth competition.