Miss Universe Philippines Chelsea Manalo. Dyan Castillejo, ABS-CBN News

MANILA — The Miss Universe Philippines organization believes that the uniqueness and glow of Chelsea Manalo is going to shine on the Miss Universe stage in Mexico.

According to Miss Universe Philippines President Jonas Gaffud, his fellow national directors have praised Manalo’s beauty.

“I’m very, very confident that she will be able to pull off a surprise in Mexico,” said Gaffud.

Voltaire Tayag, the executive vice president of Miss Universe Philippines, believes that Manalo’s visual as a black Filipina will create an initial reaction, but the Philippine bet will ultimately win the crowd over with her inner glow.

“The next five minutes is all going to be about how warm, how authentic, how genuine she is. The glow that comes from within and her authenticity— that’s what they will feel,” said Tayag.

Tayag believes that in being the first black Filipina to win the Miss Universe Philippines pageant, Manalo sends a “timely message” to pageant fans.

“I felt bad for a lot of the mixed heritage Filipinas [who are] being questioned … It’s not really their fault,” said Tayag. “A lot of times, Filipinos would want to ask them — are you more Filipino, or are you more your other nationality? And I would always say, that’s like asking them to choose between your mother and your father.”

“That’s not something you can choose. You are both,” Tayag stressed.

“Embracing that diversity and inclusivity — that’s not just something that we say, but something that we practice. In fact, this year, you know we had two black Filipinas compete and two of them ended up winning titles.”

For Manalo, being the face of a more inclusive era of pageantry is a great honor.

“It’s already been an advantage here in the Philippines that we’re already representing multicultural aspects,” she said. “And to bring [that] to the universal stage — what more the influence that I can bring, right?”

“It’s not just about being a representation of a black woman,” she added. “As what Sir Voltaire said, it’s about the presence and what you can bring to the table.”

“As long as I get to Mexico, I just want them to understand how beautiful, how resilient, how powerful a Filipina is.”