The first edition of Miss Universe Philippines 2020 was held on 25th October 2020 at Cordillera Convention Hall, Baguio, where Rabiya Mateo from Iloilo city was crowned Miss Universe Philippines 2020 and became the official representative of Philippines at Miss Universe 2020.
The organization announced that official titles for the top five winners of Miss Universe Philippines 2020 and recently the runner ups shot a small video explaining what their titles means to them. Let’s look at what divas had to say about their titles and what it means to them:
First runner-up Ysabella Ysmael, a ballet dancer, was named Ambassador for Arts and Culture. In her video she explained that she is grateful for the organization for honouring her with title for Arts and Culture as she believes that she and her team they are trying to bring out their selves and that is Arts and Culture for her. Arts and Culture helps Ysabella resonates with her position and she wants to encourage more artists to come out of their shell and be proud of what you do. She further explained that as a ballerina she mentioned that her art has brought her where she is today. She lastly added, “Your art, your inner art, your inner culture is something that will sky rocket you, it will take to the levels that you wish to achieve.”
Second runner-up and volleyball player Michele Gumabao was named Ambassador for Health and Fitness. In her video, she explained that being an athlete, the title is very close to her heart and this is something she has been doing for the longest time. But now she wants to do the same for other people; to be able to rally and champion causes that will make us realize that how important focusing on health and fitness is especially during the time of pandemic. Michele added that focusing on one’s own health and fitness is something we all must work on, learn from, and make our health our priority. The diva strongly believes that this is something that she wants to invest herself into not only for her but for everyone.
Third runner-up Pauline Amelinckx was named Ambassador for Tourism. In her video, she explained that she wanted to be the Ambassador for Tourism because Bohol is an amazing tourist spot blessed with a lot of nature with great culture, and amazing people. Pauline mentioned that she was assured that if she was given that position, she will be able to help the province as well with the projects and the with the influence she has gained she’ll be able to shell out to them as well. The diva added that the outbreak of pandemic, took a hit on Bohol and she feels that she can help them through this in her own ways. Pauline is hopeful that she can ripple that out into a bigger reach to help the Philippines.
Lastly, fourth runner-up Billie Hakenson was named Ambassador for Gender Equality. The queen came under a lot of spotlight after she revealed she is bisexual and a proud member of LGBTQ community during face-to-face competition. In her video, she explained that the title was suggested to her as she was focusing on the equality leaning towards women empowerment but she loves the idea of being an ambassador of gender equality. Billie stated that she likes that everyone is included and how inclusive this title is and is looking for future projects related to the topic and advocating about the topic among people.
Miss Universe Philippines 2020 Rabiya Mateo was named Ambassador for Education. She was an honour student and taught in a review centre for physical therapy board exam.