Miss Universe Philippines Rabiya Mateo has won the hearts of netizens for championing education and social work in her up close video for the Miss Universe pageant.
Mateo’s three-minute video became an instant hit for online watchers after it was uploaded on the Miss Universe YouTube channel on April 21, 2021.
Rabiya’s video has gained the highest number of views among all the Miss Universe candidates with more than 966 thousand hits as of this writing.
In the video, the country’s pageant representative showcased Bohol tourist spots as well as her eloquence about her advocacy as an education ambassador and her social work.
“Mabuhay! This is Rabiya Occena Mateo all the way from the Philippines,” the Pinay beauty titleholder said in her introduction wearing her blue-green Filipiniana terno.
The 24-year-old Filipino-Indian lecturer then shared little information about herself.
“I really had my humble beginnings education had transformed my life,” she said. “Now, I am a teacher and I hope that my students will see the value of education the way I saw it.”
She also emphasized the importance of education in alleviating one’s impoverished situation.
“I live in a country where there’s a lot of poor families,” Rabiya shared. “And education is our social equalizer, that regardless of what background you have, what status of your family if you educate yourself you will be able to land a great job.”
The Ilongga beauty queen shared that she would further use her platform for humanitarian aid purposes if she wins the highly-coveted Miss Universe title.
“If I will be crowned as your next Miss Universe I will do my best to champion for other people.
“Because we need nowadays is not just a beauty queen with a pretty face,” she went on, “but we need phenomenal women who are not afraid to speak and to stand for the things that they believe in.”
Rabiya Mateo has received unified massive support from 100 Filipino fashion designers who created her wardrobe for her campaign in the international beauty derby.
Rabiya aims to continue the country’s decade-long history of penetrating the prestigious pageant’s semifinal round since the year 2010 and hopes to duplicate the feat of the Philippines’ former Miss Universe winners Gloria Diaz (1969), Margie Moran (1973), Pia Wurtzbach (2015), and Catriona Gray (2018).
Help Rabiya secure a spot in the Top 21 in the upcoming Miss Universe pageant happening on May 16 (May 17 in the Philippines) by sending her a vote here.
WATCH Miss Universe Philippines Rabiya Mateo’s up close video here and SEND cheers for her as she fights for the country’s fifth Miss Universe crown below.
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