‘FIGHT FOR YOUR DREAMS’: Humble beginnings prepped Rabiya Mateo to conquer the universe

It seems that all the stars have aligned for Ilongga beauty Rabiya Mateo to be crowned as Miss Universe Philippines 2020.

But it’s more than destiny. Behind her alluring beauty and captivating smile is a story of a simple girl who started from the bottom and quickly rose to the top because of sheer hard work and determination.

The newly crowned Miss Universe Philippines 2020 is a half-Indian, half-Filipina stunner from the town of Balasan in Iloilo province.

 

TOUGH CHILDHOOD

In her previous interviews, Mateo revealed that they were abandoned by their father when she was five years old.

She and her younger brother were raised solo by their mother, Christine.

“Mom raised me alone. We were abandoned at around 5 years old. I have a younger brother. My mom was the only person who raised the both of us,” she shared in an interview with ABS-CBN reporter Dyan Castillejo.

Coming from a broken family, Mateo admitted that life was never easy as they struggled with finances.

At an early age, Mateo became the breadwinner of their family through modeling stints while studying as a full scholar of Iloilo Doctor’s College.

“That is why at an early age, naging breadwinner ako while being a full scholar. I was doing modelling gigs just to earn money para may pambaon lang,” she said.

In a now viral social media post, Ramon Muñez, one of Rabiya’s friends whose family owned the beauty queen’s former boarding house, shared how Mateo struggled while she was studying in college.

“Years ago, she stayed at our boarding house for less than a semester while she was studying at Iloilo Doctor’s College. She did not have the money to pay for the rent. She slept on the floor. Her roommates gave her ‘banig’ (mat) so she would have something to sleep on. My mum asked if she’ll be okay and she said she will be fine,” Muñez shared.

With her hard work, perseverance, and determination, Mateo graduated cum laude with a degree in Bachelor of Arts in Physical Therapy. She also hurdled the board exams and is currently a licensed physical therapist.

 

ROAD TO THE CROWN

Her life changed when she was crowned as the first-ever Miss Iloilo 2020, which was one of the highlights of this year’s Dinagyang Festival in January. This was her golden ticket to the prestigious Miss Universe Philippines pageant where she became the official representative of Iloilo City.

Mateo was an underdog from the get-go. Compared to other contenders who were repeaters and had years of experience in beauty pageants, Mateo never landed on the top picks and early favorites of pageant connoisseurs.

“During the start of the competition, I wasn’t even on the prediction list of most of the pageant bloggers. It doesn’t mean na pag malalakas ‘yung mga kalaban mo (if your opponents are strong) you don’t have a chance. You just need to know when to peak. And I feel like I peaked at the right time.”

Miss Universe Philippines was her first national pageant but it didn’t stop her from it giving her best shot, she said in one of her media interviews.

With her stellar performance in the preliminary competition where she bagged the Best in Swimsuit plum, she quickly rose to become one of the hot picks of pageant experts.

She also aced all the nerve-racking questions in the preliminary competition and earned praises from pageant fans.

During the coronation night Sunday, Mateo was on fire with her outstanding performances in the swimsuit and gown competitions.

Her wit and grit in answering the nerve-racking Q&A was also a testament to her hard work and dedication.

Jasper Vijar, one of her mentors for Q&A, shared how Mateo worked tirelessly in improving her communication skills through their private sessions since March.

“During the pandemic, Rabiya strongly worked on the things she has to improve on as a pageant neophyte.  Aside from solidifying her advocacy and beyond by helping out frontliners, she has worked tirelessly on her communication skills through our private sessions since March,” Vijar said in his now viral Facebook post.

The night before the coronation, Vijar said he advised Mateo to rest, but she insisted for one last session.

“In fact, the night before the finals night I told her to rest but she said, ‘no doc, let’s have one last session’. Contrary to the statement that a team makes a queen, a woman is only a queen if she chooses to be one. It was all her. All we did was stand behind her and reminded her of her reason for passing that Miss Iloilo application form which is… to win Miss Universe,” he noted.

During the final Q&A, her sharp and meaningful answers ended the journey of the other candidates towards the crown.

When asked if she could create a new paper currency with the image of any Filipino on it dead or alive, she quickly picked the late Miriam Defensor-Santiago.”For those who don’t know, she was an Ilongga. But what I admired about her is that she used her knowledge, her voice to serve the country. And I want to be somebody like her. Somebody who puts her heart, her passion into action. And after all, she is the best president that we never had.”

From a simple dreamer to now becoming a phenomenal woman, Mateo has shown us that nothing is impossible with perseverance, dedication, and hard work.

Now, the Ilongga beauty is more than ready to conquer the universe and for sure all the Ilonggos are behind you. (ERS)