Ifugao Representative Teddy Baguilat Jr. said that Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray is not only the winner of the said prestigious pageant, he believes that there’s another beauty queen who won the hearts of the people.
Amid the celebration of the people on the victory of Catriona, Baguilat tweeted that he also saw the victory of the transgender bet of Spain in the Miss Universe, Angela Ponce.
“First transgender Miss U candidate. Miss Spain. For breaking boundaries and for her advocacy to fight discrimination, she’s the other winner in this contest. #SOGIE,” Baguilat wrote.
First transgender Miss U candidate. Miss Spain. For breaking boundaries and for her advocacy to fight discrimination, she's the other winner in this contest. #SOGIE https://t.co/afx0iWPJ5l
— Teddy B. Baguilat (@TeddyBaguilatJr) December 17, 2018
Baguilat is one of the advocates of the SOGIE equality bill, which gives more protection to the LGBTQ community, while it also does not affect the religious belief.
The SOGIE bill also does not push for the legalization same-gender marriage.
Ponce made her historic appearance in the Miss Universe 2018 held in Thailand as the first transgender to join the prestigious event.
Despite not reaching the top 20 of the competition, the Miss Universe organization made a special segment for her.
“My hope is for tomorrow to be able to live in a world of equality for everyone, simply for us all to understand that we are human and we must make all our lives easier together,” she said. “If I can give that to the world, I don’t need to win Miss Universe, I only need to be here,” Ponce said during the segment.
However, her appearance was opposed by many people including some Filipino pageant fans, saying that the Miss Universe is only for natural-born women and Ponce should join a pageant made for transgenders.