Pia proud to be ‘Reyna ng mga Bakla’

Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach finally returned home more than a month after winning the highly-coveted Miss Universe 2015 crown in Las Vegas, Nevada. With her very dramatic win, Pia ended the country’s 42-year Miss Universe drought and became only the third Filipina to have been able to bring home the crown.

Now that all has been said and done, and the crown sits firmly and securely on the head of the rightful queen, I asked Pia to look back on what she went through that night. “They put me backstage and I was wearing the crown and they gave me a seat and they gave me some water just to try to calm me down… Gulat talaga ako. Lutang ako.

“So, pagdating ko doon, I just kept asking my manager, Ester, because she was the one speaking to me. I kept asking her, ‘Are they going to come back for the crown? Is this final? Am I really Miss Universe or are they going to take it away from me?’ Paulit-ulit ako sa kanya, ‘Are they going to come back?’”

With everything that went on that night and immediately after the pageant, I was also curious to find out if she was able to talk — and thank — Miss Universe judge Perez Hilton for shooting down Donald Trump’s ridiculous proposal of co-sharing the crown with Miss Colombia, Ariadna Gutierrez, by saying they cannot be co-winners because Miss Philippines was voted unanimously.

“No, I never got the chance to see him again after the pageant night. I did talk to him onstage when he went up to me and reassured me that they all voted for me. All four of them (the judges) talked to me and they said that they chose me. They just wanted to reassure me that I was the winner. And siguro the way I was able to thank him was during the Steve Harvey Show where I said, ‘I really appreciate Perez Hilton for being so vocal and defending me in public.’ I appreciate that very much and I hope he got my thank you,” Pia explained.

I also got to ask Pia what she thinks about being dubbed “Reyna ng mga Bakla,” in reference to the devotion many Filipino LGBTs have for all things beauty pageant. “Pak na pak!” she says. “I’m very happy obviously. I’m all for gender equality. I support the LGBT community and I will continue supporting the LGBT community even when I pass on the crown.”

In parting, Pia thanked everyone who supported her. “Maraming salamat po sa inyong lahat. Sobrang saya ko po na nakauwi na ako dito sa Pilipinas. Pakiramdam ko ang tagal ko nang di nakakauwi. Noong naglalakad ako noong pageant night ng naka-Philippine sash ako, naka-gown ako na blue na iyon parang ganito rin iyong pakiramdam eh. Sobrang saya. Sobrang dami ng nagtsi-cheer. Talagang I was so proud to be a Filipina at that moment and what I really wanted to do was just represent the country as much as I could and the best way that I could.

“Maraming salamat din po sa lahat ng bumoto noong global fan vote. Mga Pianatics, maraming salamat po sa inyong lahat lalo na napakaimportante po talaga ng global fan vote na iyon at kung di dahil sa inyo hindi ako nag-No. 1 sa swimsuit, evening gown, and Q and A. Thank you.

“Thank you very much everybody for your continuous support before I joined Miss Universe and even now that I  already won you’re all still here with me. I did this for our country. I’ve never been more proud to be a Filipina. I thank everyone who woke up very early to vote real time for the global fan vote. That was a very important part of the competition. It was new. They’ve never done it before. Thank you very much to Pianatics, to all the Filipinos, and especially to the ones who bought tickets to Axis Theater in Planet Hollywood. To the ones who applied, who got visas and flew to Las Vegas just to watch me compete. Thank you so much for waving the Philippine flag. It was a great confidence booster.”

In parting I asked her what she would tell her reflection in the mirror? “Don’t worry. Be still. I’m very proud of you. I would probably say everything happened for a reason. All the hardships, all the years, all the rejections, everything, it all made sense now because you found your destiny and don’t ever change.”

And this is why, when people ask me about Pia, I am quick to tell them that she has her heart in the right place. Win or lose, she will always find her way back home.