“There are a lot of distractions, a lot of bashers or backlash but at the end of the day, when you practice self love, you get to know the right weapon in order for you to win in life.”
Miss Universe Philippines 2020 Rabiya Mateo is ready to take on the universe.
As the representative of Iloilo City, Mateo bested 46 candidates who vied for the coveted title at the inaugural staging of Miss Universe Philippines 2020 pageant under the Miss Universe Philippines Organization. (Prior to this, the Miss Philippines pageant was helmed by the Binibining Pilipinas Charities Inc. by the Araneta Group for 50 years.)
Her first time to join a national beauty pageant, Mateo was not considered a frontrunner by many. However, she was on the radar of pageant experts who predicted that she would at least be part of the Top 5. Mateo is represented by Aces & Queens camp, which has produced international title holders including Miss World 2013 Megan Young and Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach.
Mateo is reportedly the second Ilongga to represent the Philippines in Miss Universe. The first one was Louise Aurelio Vail of Jaro, Iloilo in 1965, who landed in the Top 15 of the pageant held in Miami, Florida.
The 23-year-old stunner from Balasan, Iloilo is of Filipino and Indian descent. She was raised by her mother Christine, a single mom who taught her the value of forgiveness and hope. Mateo shared during the MUP 2020 preliminary interviews at the Baguio Country Club that she learned from her mother, an Ilongga, to always forgive people.
Mateo also openly spoke about her father leaving their family when she was younger and they have experienced a “really poor life.” Through this situation, Mateo empowered herself through education to be able to get herself a job and eventually help the family. She believes that having an education will allow her to rise above hard times.
With determination and a clear goal in mind, Mateo graduated cum laude and university valedictorian with a bachelor of science degree in Physical Therapy at the Iloilo Doctors’ College in 2018. She pursued her passion for education by being the national reviewer/lecturer in Physical Therapy, which gave her the opportunity to teach and travel all over the country.
During the pageant’s Top 16 Q&A, Mateo spoke about her love for education and how it helped her to live a comfortable life now that she and her family deserves.
As an advocate, Mateo works with the “Feed Me and I Read You” program, which benefits the students of Feliciana Java Kelly Elementary School in Mandurriao, Iloilo City. The program aims to conquer hunger and improve the learning capacity of a child. In her advocacy video for the pageant, she said, “It has been my dream that tomorrow, education shouldn’t be just a privilege for some but the right of every child because knowledge is and always will be power.”
‘A symbol of hope’
The COVID-19 pandemic has spared no one and nothing, including one of the much-awaited events of the year, the staging of the Miss Universe Philippines 2020. The pageant was initially set for May 3 but because of the country’s strict community quarantines still in effect, it was moved to June 14 and was postponed again.
Eventually, the “all-Pinoy” staging of the pageant (with Robby Carmona in charge of production) happened on Oct. 25, with no live audience but was shown on GMA-7 and streamed through Ring Light on Empire.ph for a fee.
Among the health and safety protocols of the pageant was that candidates were required to do their own makeup and hairstyling, guided by mentors Nix Soriano and Mark Rosales. The organizers also made sure that only 10 girls were allowed at one place at a time.
As the pandemic continues to usher the country and the rest of the world to more uncertainty, many ask if pageants are still relevant at this time. In the Top 5 Q&A during the MUP 2020 finale, candidates were asked: “Where do pageants stand in this time of crisis?”