Women lifting women up: Katarina defends Mariel from hateful comments

Beauty pageants can get competitive, but the Binibining Plipinas Queens are proving that it doesn't have to be.

The winners of the annual contest have proven time and again that theirs is a strong sisterhood with a foundation built on love and positivity.

When Miss International Philippines 2017 Mariel De Leon attracted hate for giving advice to fellow queen Catriona Gray, both Catriona and Miss Intercontinental Philippines 2017 Katarina Rodriguez stood with her.

Catriona advised her fans not to fall into the trap of knee-jerk hate.

Katarina meanwhile defended her friend on Twitter.

"I can confidently say that Mariel is one of the nicest and most passionate ladies I have ever met," Katarina said. "She is gentle and kind, yet daring and honest."

Katarina was bedridden when the Binibining Pilipinas 2018 candidates were presented before a panel of previous queens, but she said that she "reviewed" the comments Mariel gave and found that her friend neither insulted Catriona nor spoke of her in an offensive manner.

"Please take it from someone who personally knows Mariel, she would not want to bring any person down," Katarina continued.

She added, "Mariel wanted to help Catriona is all."

Hi everyone, let’s remember to keep kindness and peace especially in something that should be fun for us all. ???????? pic.twitter.com/fxh4ywvGtv

— Katarina (@KatarinaRodri) March 12, 2018

Katarina's sparkling testimonial to Mariel's character is a reminder that if we don't know someone on a personal level, it's best to reserve our judgments and not blast it all over the Internet with the intention to hurt. — LA, GMA News