Rabiya Mateo Is All Geared Up For The Miss Universe 2020 Competition

Yesterday, Miss Universe Philippines 2020 Rabiya Mateo has arrived in the Los Angeles, California, where she's representing the country at the Miss Universe 2020 competition.

In a video of her arrival shared by her camp, Aces & Queens, Rabiya gave a message to her Filipino fans, "Mga kababayan ko sa Pilipinas, nandito na ako ngayon sa Los Angeles. Pinapangako ko po na gagawin ko ang lahat ng posibleng gawin para maiuwi ulit natin ang korona sa bayan. Mahal ko kayo, at please po, ipagdasal niyo ako at suportahan sa laban na ito."

The 69th Miss Universe pageant will be held at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida on May 16 (May 17 morning in Manila). The pageant was supposed to take place earlier, but it was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Beauty queens from 75 countries are vying for the coveted title of Miss Universe 2020. In the prestigious pageant's history, four Pinay beauty queens have so far won: Gloria Diaz in 1969, Margie Moran in 1973, Pia Wurtzbach in 2015, and Catriona Gray in 2018.

With more than a month to go until the coronation night of Miss Universe 2020, we're excited to learn more about Rabiya's pre-pageant experiences and, of course, see all the outfits she'll be wearing. In collaboration with fashion stylists Rain Dagala and Em Millan of Team Rain x Em, Rabiya is training the spotlight on the world-class talent of Filipino designers. She has so far worn creations by Chino Christopherson, Marc Rancy, and Marlon Tuazon.

Rabiya Mateo is the first Miss Universe Philippines titleholder to be produced by the Miss U PH organization. The national license of Miss Universe was formerly held by Binibining Pilipinas Charities, Inc. for half a century.

This proud Ilongga was crowned Miss Universe Philippines in October 25 last year. For her advocacy, Rabiya is passionate about educating people. She was part of a "Feed Me and I Read You" program in Iloilo, which helps students living near the dumpsites. The advocacy believes in the connection between nutrition and education. In a previous interview with Metro.Style, she explains this initiative, "What the project aims to do are two things: the first one is to defeat and conquer hunger and the next one is to improve the learning capability of the child." 

Rabiya also marked a milestone today, as she hit (and has just surpassed!) 700,000 followers on Instagram.

Lead photos from @tjmedrana and @teamrainxem via @rabiyamateo