Filipina beauty pageant contestant opens up about girlfriend during competition

By Coconuts Manila Nov. 7, 2017

Photo from Maria Izobel Taguiam Facebook page.

Beauty pageants are big in the Philippines, but this year’s Binibining Cebu (Miss Cebu) competition is being talked about for something other than the competition itself.

It started out as a quiet news story out of Cebu City on Visayas island last week, but it is now making some noise internationally.

Last Thursday, Inquirer’s Cebu Daily News published an article about Maria Izobel Taguiam, a contestant from Tabogon, who opened up about having a girlfriend during an interview with the hosts on stage.

“All right Miss Tabogon, may I ask you a simple question? Do you have a boyfriend?” host and beauty queen Karla Henry asked, to which Taguiam answered: “Yes, but not a boyfriend — a girlfriend. Because I believe love does not see gender, and if you love that someone, go for it.”

She was also asked who would make for a better Miss Cebu: a single or committed woman?

“I think it’s better to be committed, because if your partner knows how to support you in all of your decisions, he or she will not hinder you in pursuing your commitments,” Taguiam said.

Taguiam has been receiving praise for her honest answer, knowing doing so could have cost her the competition.

After the pageant, Taguiam posted about the experience on Facebook and said that she will always be open about her sexuality. “I will never hesitate to tell people about my sexuality, I wanted to be honest and I don’t want to say things that I don’t really mean,” she wrote. 

Taguiam finished in the top 12 of the competition.

https://coconuts.co/manila/lifestyle/filipina-beauty-pageant-contestant-opens-girlfriend-competition/