Mariel de Leon on being critical of the government: ‘Everyone has that right’

For Binibining Pilipinas International 2017 Mariel de Leon, it's truly country over crown.

The beauty queen on Wednesday defended her position to be outspoken about political issues in an interview with GMA News' News To Go.

De Leon told hosts Kara David and Howie Severino that she hadn't expected her tweets about Mocha Uson's appointment as assistant secretary in the Presidential Communications Operations Office to "blow up" as she hadn't been on the platform in a while.

Read: Mariel De Leon roars, vows to remain vocal about controversial issues

However, she remained firm in her decision to use her voice to educate people and engage them in productive discussions. She added that it is every Filipino's right to be critical of the government.

"As a Filipina, as a citizen of this country, I have opinions about our government and the way it's run. Everyone has that right. I just felt like I should put it out there, since now I have a voice," De Leon asserted.

A workshop that De Leon attended with her fellow Binibining Pilipinas 2017 queens proved to be useful in shrugging off the "bashers" that flocked to her Twitter account.

"I am secure with myself, and with that, no kind of negativity gets to me. So, I respect their opinion, but of course there's a way to debate and argue issues. You don't need to insult other people," she said. "They can say what they say, I'll still voice my opinions."

De Leon, daughter of veteran actors Christopher De Leon and Sandy Andolong, was crowned Binibining Pilipinas International on April 30. —Aya Tantiangco/ALG, GMA News