Ariella: 'I hope I made Pinoys happy'

CEBU, Philippines - Ariella Arida is "very happy and very grateful" for placing third runner-up in the Miss Universe pageant in Moscow, saying that she never expected to reach that far into the competition.

It was Venezuela's Gabriela Isler, a 25-year-old TV presenter, who was crowned Miss Universe 2013.

"I'm very happy because I never expected I would reach this far in the competition. Sobra akong kinabahan sa semifinals, akala ko di na ako tatawagin. I'm very thankful that God gave me this," the country's bet told reporters in a post-pageant phone interview following the private screening hosted by Bb. Pilipinas Charities, Inc. (BPCI) early Sunday at the Araneta Center.

Ariella's performance provided a momentary respite from the heartbreaking news of the Typhoon Yolanda devastation in the Visayas. Early on in the pageant, the hosts expressed their sympathies and dedicated the show to the typhoon victims.

Pageant-loving Filipinos, meanwhile, stayed up at 2 a.m. and watched with bated breath the live telecast on cable channels, starting when Ariella managed to clinch the last remaining spot on the Top 16 thanks to the global fan vote component of Miss Universe, which automatically advances a candidate to the semifinals. She said that she's very thankful for the support of the Filipinos, but at that moment, she also felt she needed to prove that she deserved to be in the shortlist not just because she garnered the most online votes.

But it was practically smooth-sailing from there as the number was winnowed down to 10 before she finally cracked the Top 5 before judges like Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler.

Wearing a canary-yellow form-fitted gown, Ariella, on the question about what she can do about the lack of jobs for young people starting their careers, answered: "For the people who have lack of jobs, I do believe that we people should invest in education and that is my primary advocacy because we all know that everyone of  us is educated and are well aware of what we are doing we could (land) jobs and we could land (a) good career (in) the future. So education is the primary source and ticket (to) a better future."

In retrospect, Ariella admitted that she could have answered more. "Nakulangan ako, alam ko sa sarili ko. Pero masaya ako at nakapasok ako sa Top 5 at napatuloy ko ang streak natin," she said, recalling the Top 5 finishes of her predecessors, former Binibinis Venus Raj, Shamcey Supsup and Janine Tugonon.

She added that knowing that she had the support of former Miss Universe Olivia Culpo is more than enough for her. "Natuwa nga ako ng bineso ako ni Olivia (after the pageant) and she told me, 'I was rooting for you.'"

As the 24-year-old beauty from Alaminos, Laguna, who is joined in Moscow by her teacher-parents, makes plans to come home, according to BPCI in a statement, Ariella has already volunteered to join relief efforts of BPCI, which is making an initial P1M donation, to assist the typhoon victims.

Throughout the tension-filled Miss U stint, Ariella's thoughts were never far from her kababayans. When she learned of the calamity that struck the country, her vying for the title against 86 other candidates took on a deeper meaning.

She said that she was shocked and saddened. "Pero sana kahit papaano napasaya ko sila at ito ang nakuha ko. I did my best! Even if I didn't get the top prize, I hope I made the (Filipinos) happy because it's for them, for the Filipino people."

The rest of the top five were Spain's Patricia Rodríguez who finished first runner-up; Ecuador's Constanza Báez as second runner-up; and Brazil's Jakelyne Oliveira as fourth runner-up. (FREEMAN)