By Jennifer P. Rendon
For the Ilonggo community, they will always love their homegrown beauty queen Miss Philippines 2020 Rabiya Mateo.
Following the declaration of candidates who made it to the Top 10 of the Miss Universe 2020 pageant, Ilonggo netizens turned to social media to express how proud they were of Mateo despite failing to bring home the crown.
As expected, many Ilonggos decided to turn off their television or live streaming of the pageant after the announcement.
Minutes later, Mayor Jerry Treñas of Iloilo City posted on his Facebook account “We are still proud of you, Rabiya.”
“Congratulations to our very own Rabiya Mateo for being one of the top 21 beautiful and smart women of the Universe! I met her a while back, and I saw her compassion to help our fellow Filipinos especially educating our young children. She had strived very hard to achieve her dreams,” Treñas said.
He added that Rabiya “had fluently represented the City of Love to the entire globe, and we are very proud of her. We cannot wait to welcome her home and make her feel the love of every Ilonggo.”
Even former Iloilo City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog expressed sadness over Rabiya’s failure to enter the Top 10.
Several hours before the pageant, Treñas asked the Ilonggos to offer a prayer for Rabiya.
“Let us all hope that she gets the crown, not only for the Ilonggos, but for all the Filipinos, after all she represents the country. But even if she does not bring back the crown, she will always be our queen for she is the true Ilonggo – one who rises despite all the challenges,” he said.
He even requested teachers and employers to give consideration to their students or employees who might be late if they watch “this one of a lifetime chance of an Ilongga to win the miss universe crown. This is just a request to everyone from one Ilonggo to another.”
The Iloilo provincial government held a live streaming of the Miss Universe pageant at the Capitol lobby. A similar event was also done at Rabiya’s home in Barangay Poblacion, Balasan town in Iloilo province.
With Rabiya being edged out, Ilonggos noticed the lethargic Olivia Culpo who was one of the pageant hosts.
Some of those who continued to watch picked their top 3 choices to win the crown. But in the end, optimistic Ilonggos settled with the fact that there are more opportunities waiting for Rabiya, with or without the Miss Universe crown.
