Ex-beauty queen-solon wants Miss Universe bets to visit Tacloban

A beauty queen-turned-congresswoman has urged organizers of Miss Universe to include Tacloban City, Leyte among the places to be visited by its candidates when the pageant is held in the Philippines in January next year.

Leyte Rep. Yedda Marie Kittilstvedt-Romualdez said a visit to Tacloban would raise awareness not only among the candidates but also the public about the disaster management efforts in the city, more than three years after being ravaged by supertyphoon Yolanda (Haiyan).

"We are appealing to include Tacloban City in the segments of Miss Universe for worthy cause. Surely, this will further promote disaster management and remind the world of the bigger task of rehabilitation that is yet to be completed," said Romualdez.

"This opportunity is not only a source of pride for our people, but will definitely result in a significant boom on our tourism," added the lawmaker, who is also a member of the House committee on tourism.

Romualdez won the Bb. Pilipinas International crown during its pageant in 1996, where Aileen Damiles and Daisy Reyes respectively won the Bb. Pilipinas Universe and Bb. Pilipinas world crowns.

Department of Tourism Secretary Wanda Teo earlier confirmed that the pageant would be held in the Philippines on January 30, 2017 and that the private sector would shoulder the expenses for the pageant, which is estimated to cost $11 million.

The pageant is set to kick off on Camiguin Island in northern Mindanao, and will also feature several of the Philippines’ tourist destinations including Davao, Palawan, Boracay, and Cebu.

The Philippines' Pia Wurtzbach is the reigning titleholder of the prestigious pageant, which was also held in Manila in 1974 and 1994. —Mark Merueñas/ALG, GMA News