What Does It Take to be an Ilongga Beauty Queen

                  by Charlie Esimos

photo taken from google.com

Elegance and humility have catapulted Rabiya Occeña Mateo to rise above other beauties and ended a trailblazing finish as Miss Universe Philippines 2020.

This biracial half -Filipino, half -Indian beauty is a bearer of an Arabic name which translates to “queen” or “princess” and is a proud Ilongga.

“I want to show the world that I am a queen today because of my province and with that being said, I want to prove to everyone that I am a true Ilongga with a heartfelt beauty”, with a resounding confidence in her voice, the phenomenal woman stated during a Q and A portion with an evident fondness to her humble roots.

As Ilonggos celebrate this flourish of triumph, another empowered Ilongga deserves to bound the spotlights for being the very first “Queen of the Orient” 1908 precursor to Miss Philippines today – Purificacion “Pura” Villanueva-Kalaw was another phenomenal woman and a firm advocate of women empowerment.

Being a native Ilongga queen, she spearheaded women's rights movements more than living the pleasure of wearing the coveted crown.

In 1906, Kalaw was in her 20’s, she managed to organize Asociacion Feminista Ilongga which of a sole purpose of liberating Filipina women. “What a man can do, a woman can do as well” was a credo Kalaw formulated that labored the first women suffrage movement in Iloilo and in Philippines and thanks to her, the right to vote was bestowed to women in 1937. 

Hailing at such a huge platform is an overwhelming opportunity to amplify desperate whispers and promote equal and better chances to every member of society is what marks a true beauty queen.

When asked about the relevance of pageants in a pandemic, Mateo sincerely said:

“As a candidate I know I'm not just the face of Iloilo City, but I am here carrying hope and as a symbol of light in the darkest times, and as of the moment, I want to help my community, I want to use my strength to make an impact, and that is the essence of beauty pageants, it gives us the power to make a difference.”

Kalaw and Mateo, as the epitome of an Ilongga beauty and an embodiments of hope for Ilonggos,have hoisted the humble city of Iloilo to fame and admiration.  They proved, Iloilo is no lesser than the extravagant cities and municipalities in the Philippines. When it comes to beauty, brain, and will, Ilonggas are something to deck with jewels.