Published April 10, 2021, 2:00 PM
Rabiya Mateo
Miss Philippines Rabiya Mateo has arrived in Los Angeles, California in preparation for the 69th Miss Universe beauty pageant which will be held in Florida on May 16.
This as Jonas Gaffud, creative director for Miss Universe Philippines, explained the team’s sudden decision to fly to the US this early.
Jonas Gaffud
On Facebook April 10, Gaffud said: “The sudden decision to leave early was because of restrictions in the country. We wanted to leave on April 20, to isolate for 14 days (self imposed because there are no quarantine rules in Florida I think) prior to checking in at the Miss Universe Hotel venue.”
Rabiya Mateo leaves for US to compete in Miss Universe 2020
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Rabiya Mateo off to US for Miss Universe competition
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“She’s a winner!”
This was the remark of Jonas Gaffud, creative director of Miss Universe Philippines, when asked about Rabiya Mateo’s chances at the 2020 Miss Universe beauty pageant which will be held in Florida on May 16.
Gaffud said that Rabiya is all set to fly to the US for the most prestigious beauty pageant in a few days.
“Rabiya’s training is the usual like runway, interview, make up, fitness, speech, photoshoots etc. But we also focused on mental health. There is so much pressure online and amongst Filipino fans that some beauty queens have been subjected to in the past. And Rabiya is not exempted. So we have reminded her to be stronger,” said Gaffud, when asked about the beauty queen’s preparations.