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“We only have one home and this planet has changes throughout the years and those changes, palala nang palala.”

That is one of the reasons Rabiya Mateo chooses to advocate for the environment, especially on managing plastic waste and promoting the three Rs of waste management.

Rabiya was one of the speakers on the Sparkle Artist Talk during the Family Wellness Festival on Sunday, August 6. The event was a partnership between GMA Network and Nestlé under Kapuso at Kasambuhay ng Kalikasan project.

During her talk, the Royal Blood actress pointed the importance of three Rs of waste management; reuse, reduce and recycle.

She also mentioned when she went on a cleanup drive last year and realized just how much plastic waste is littered everywhere and how much she had to change to avoid this in the future.

In an exclusive interview with GMANetwork.com, Rabiya mentioned how she had to reflect on her actions and noted how, as an actress and beauty queen, she can influence people to do the right thing.

“Sinasabi ko nga kanina na dapat 'yung pagiging isang environmentalist, 'yung pagmamahal sa kalikasan, hindi lang siya among beauty queens, among environmentalist, pero dapat bawat tao sa mundo, may pagmamahal sa tahanan natin,” the Miss Universe Philippines 2020 said.

When asked how she would make sure that her fellow artists would follow the three R's of waste management, Rabiya answered, “Alam mo, individuality talaga.”

She continued, “It's so hard to track down 'yung activities and lifestyle of other artists. But, you can be strong about where you stand and what you stand for."

She then recalled how she was previously criticized for wearing some of her clothes a few more times. But for the beauty queen, she's just following her lifestyle, saying that there's nothing wrong with it.

“Sabi ko nga, iba 'yung perception ng mga tao about fashion, being a celebrity, pero iba din 'yung pinaglalaban ko bilang meron akong puso para sa kalikasan,” she said.

She added, “I can sleep at night knowing na kahit mahirap, kasi hindi siya madali e, kasi sometimes, it's in our system, to do things as a reflex. Pero dito kasi, you have to change, at 'yung change na 'yun, kailangan mo panindigan.”

TAKE A LOOK BACK AT RABIYA'S MISS UNIVERSE 2020 JOURNEY HERE:

Educating the people

Rabiya also stressed the importance of educating the people about the environment, the problems it's facing, the possible solutions, and practicing those solutions everyday.

The TiktoClock host also revealed that she was a strong advocate for education when she joined Miss Universe Philippines in 2020. However, if she were to join pageantry again, her advocacy would be a combination of education and taking care of the environment.

“You educate people to love the environment, to take care of the environment,” she said.

She further stressed, “Sana, as early as possible, grade school pa lang, alam na ng mga bata 'yung problema, napasok na sa sistema nila 'yung kailangang pagbabago, to have a good impact sa lifestyle nila."

For Rabiya, one of the best ways to train students on taking care of the environment is through the numerous school activities, as well as a curriculum discussing the different problems and possible solutions to them.

“Wala kasing one day solution to this problem e, mabigat siya. Pero marami tayong aspects na pwede nating tirahin o daanan to at least create pagbabago na maganda," she ended.