PROMOTING physical fitness and a healthier lifestyle for Dabawenyos.
This is the advocacy of the newly crowned Mutya ng Davao 2023 Maria Isabel Pelayo, especially for women and Dabawenyo workers, during her reign.
“My advocacy is fitness and health of women, [and] of all Dabawenyos because it is always important to keep your body healthy,” Pelayo said in an ambush interview.
“Considering there are many people in the working class in Davao City, we really need our bodies to purposely function in our jobs," Pelayo added.
Pelayo, who is a fitness instructor, said physical health and fitness are helpful and beneficial and urged Dabawenyos to give time to staying healthy.
She said the pageant will be a big help in fulfilling her advocacy, and to know more people about how she can help promote physical fitness.
“Of course, it’s reaching out to people, I have to get to know more the concerns of people so I know how to help them and it’s a good direction for me to go for the goodness of Davao,” Pelayo said.
Pelayo, who is from Indangan, Davao City, bested 29 other candidates during the coronation night at the University of Southeastern Philippines (Usep) Gymnasium, Friday, March 17.
Competing in the Mutya ng Davao for the first time, she said her experience was like a dream.
"It’s so unreal, mura lang ko og nagdamgo (it feels like a dream), but it’s here, and now I have my purpose and a direction that I have to serve the Dabawenyos and I will be doing that,” Pelayo said.
During the final question and answer portion, the candidates were asked, “There is a phenomenon called the feminization of poverty, which means that more women suffer the consequences of poverty than men. What are your thoughts on poverty as a gender experience and what can you do as a Mutya ng Dabaw to help address this?”
“I believe that poverty is nothing gendered at all. It's experienced as a social issue. It just [so] happens that there could be a lack of opportunities, which causes the effect of having more of them in poverty,” Pelayo answered.
“As a Mutya, I will push more, for them to be given more chances, more opportunities especially equal to those of men,” she added.
When asked how she came up with that answer, she said she knows people who are going through a similar situation.
“I came up with it from my experience, and I know that I got my own peers who are having a hard time finding jobs or any opportunities which make them have financial problems and I can really understand how it entails for some women to find good opportunities,” Pelayo said.
Meanwhile, Joanna Marie Franken was declared Diwa ng Davao 2023 while Jamyla Diane Ampis was crowned Sinag ng Davao 2023.
The Pag-asa ng Dabaw 2023 is Dulce Amor Lumictin while the crowd-favorite Piligrina Jendy Bentayao was hailed Patnubay ng Dabaw 2023.
For the special awards, Miss Congeniality was awarded to Romena Ella Vidal while
Hanna Maj Piccio was awarded Best in Talent. Franken was also awarded Miss Photogenic while Bentayao was also named Miss Smart. ICE