PROMOTING physical fitness and a healthier lifestyle for Dabawenyos.
Newly crowned Mutya ng Davao 2023 Maria Isabel Pelayo is the advocate of the newly crowned Mutya ng Davao 2023, especially for Dabawenyo women and workers, during her reign.
“My advocacy is women’s fitness and health, [and] of all Dabawenyos because it is always important to keep your body healthy,” Pelayo said in an ambush interview.
“Since there are many working class people in Davao City, we really need our bodies to function properly in our jobs,” Pelayo added.
Pelayo, who is a fitness instructor, said physical health and fitness are useful and beneficial and urged Dabawenyos to give time to stay healthy.
She said the pageant will go a long way in fulfilling her advocacy and letting more people know how she can help promote physical fitness.
“Of course, it reaches the people, I need to know more about the concerns of the people to know how to help them and that is a good direction for me to go for the goodness of Davao,” Pelayo said.
Pelayo, who is from Indangan, Davao City, beat 29 other candidates during the coronation at the University of Southeastern Philippines (USEP) High School on Friday, March 17.
Competing in Mutya ng Davao for the first time, she said her experience was like a dream.
“It’s so unreal, mura lang ko og nagdamgo (it’s like a dream) but it’s there, and now I have my purpose and direction that I have to serve the Dabawenyos and that’s what I’m going to do,” Pelayo said.
During the final question and answer session, candidates were asked: “There is a phenomenon called the feminization of poverty, which means that more women suffer from the effects of poverty than men. What do you think about poverty as a gendered experience and what can you do as a Mutya ng Dabaw to help solving this?”
“I believe that poverty is not gender-based at all. It is experienced as a social problem. Simple [so] What happens is that there is a lack of opportunities, which leads to more of them being in poverty,” Pelayo replied.
“As Mutya, I will try harder to give them more chances, more opportunities, especially equal to those of men,” she added.
When asked how she came to that answer, she said that she knows people who are going through a similar situation.
“I came to this from my own experience and I know that I have my peers who are having a hard time finding work or any opportunities because of which they have financial problems and I can really understand how that means for some women to find good opportunities,” said Pelayo.
Meanwhile, Joanna Marie Franken was named Diwa ng Davao 2023 while Jamyla Diane Ampis was crowned Sinag ng Davao 2023.
Pag-asa ng Dabaw 2023 is Dulce Amor Lumictin while crowd favorite Jendy Bentayao’s Piligrina was named Patnubay ng Dabaw 2023.
For special awards, Miss Congeniality was awarded to Romena Ella Vidal doc
Hanna Maj Piccio was awarded for the best in talent. Franken was also awarded Miss Photogenic, while Bentayao was also named Miss Smart. ICE
