Teo said she might request the Miss Universe organizers to assign a local female celebrity as co-host of Harvey and hoping that President Duterte would agree to her proposal.
Advertisement
When asked if she would tell the MUO about the President’s concerns, the DOT secretary said, “Yes of course, I will tell them”.
Pictured: Host Steve Harvey (far L) speaks as Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutierrez (L), Miss Universe 2014 Paulina Vega (C) and Miss Philippines Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach listen onstage during the 2015 Miss Universe Pageant in Las Vegas, Nevada, December 20, 2015.
While the Duterte administration is not expecting revenue directly out of hosting Miss Universe, Teo stressed that tourism in the Philippines will surely spike up after the pageant.
She said they were looking for a Filipina to be Harvey’s co-host during the pageant.
“Let me talk to the organizers”. “That’s what he told me: “‘I’m going to talk to Miss Universe because I don’t want him to be the host of the Miss Universe”.
Harvey, when he hosted Miss Universe 2015, mistakenly named Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutierrez as the new Miss Universe in December past year, when the title was supposed to go to Binibining Pilipinas Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach.
The removal of homeless people from Manila streets also reportedly happened during the 2015 APEC Summit hosted by the Philippines.
Moments after the announcement, the host skulked back onstage and admitted the gaffe as he told the stunned audience inside Planet Hollywood that it was actually Miss Philippines who was adjudged the victor. “So that’s my problem”, Teo said.
The Miss Universe beauty pageant will be a two-week event with the candidates and their delegations starting to arrive as early as January 13.
To avoid traffic jam in Metro Manila, Teo said the pre-pageants will be held in a hotel in another cities.
“We’re not actually anxious about that (ISIS threat) because the military will take care of that”.
“I’m sure that after the Miss Universe (contest), the Philippines will be on the world map”.
“They (Miss Universe candidates) will go places”.
She said the group of former Ilocos Sur Gov. Chavit Singson is raising the USD11 million budget for the hosting of the Miss Universe pageant.
Advertisement
At the press meet on 1 September, Teo also stated that Miss Universe 2016 will take place on 30 January 2017, with candidates arriving in the country from 13 January onward. “We’ve been coordinating, we’ve been meeting with the National Security Council”, Teo said.
