Miss Universe Philippines organization has announced the Top 40 delegates who will be competing for the fourth edition of Miss Universe Philippines. The finale date and time is yet to be announced for the pageant where Celeste Cortesi Miss Universe Philippines 2022 will crown her successor at the end of the event finale.

In a series of features, lets introduce the Top 40 delegates of Miss Universe Philippines 2023. Clare Dacanay, one of the three mothers at the competition, comes from the Aces & Queens batch. Clare is 24 years of age from Paranaque City and an interior design student.

Clare always wanted to join Miss Universe when she was younger. However, coming from a big family with four siblings, she had to put this dream aside and make it happen when she's already financially capable. 

One of Clare’s long-term goals for her advocacy is to campaign for affordable mental health screening for moms. "I noticed they just tend to hide their feelings under the rug, and they just let it. It actually affects the health of your kids in the long run”, she quotes.

Before becoming a mom, Clare was diagnosed with a depressive disorder. Thus, when she got pregnant for the first time, she focused on her mental health. "I was just in my own little bubble, I thought I had my own world and I didn't need anyone else. If you could imagine a mother going through that, how can she help her kid figure out the world?"

When she became a first-time mom, she said she had to find her source of joy and strength. Her mother was recently diagnosed with dementia, and her sister then also had just given birth. She added, "If it's the mother who nurtures the child, who nurtures the mother? It doesn't make you look weak to show your weakness. It makes you look stronger because you are learning to accept that not everything is okay. There will always be people who want to help you but you have to show them that you need help. You have to meet them halfway for them to help you," she said. As a mother, Clare’s strength comes from her motherhood and that could definitely be her USP at the competition.

The Miss Universe Philippines 2023 winner will be the successor of Celeste Cortesi, who represented the Philippines at the Miss Universe 2022 in January. The winner of the upcoming pageant will compete at the 72nd Miss Universe which will take place in El Salvador in late 2023.