Miss Universe 2013 third runner-up Ariella Arida says she can't wait to pitch in and help super typhoon Yolanda victims.
“I’d rather choose na umuwi ng country ko, makatulong, kaysa mag-travel around the world, tapos malilimutan ko lang kung ano iyong nangyayari (I'd rather choose to go back to my own country and help out, instead of traveling around the world and end up forgetting all that happened),” the beauty queen was quoted by PEP.ph as saying.
She said that she first heard about the tragedy on the day of the Miss Universe 2013 pageant.
“Nalaman ko na agad what happened sa astrodome [Tacloban City Astrodome] noong umaga ng pageant, November 9. Kahit ako din, parang... Isipin mo, parang imposibleng mangyari, pero nangyari, kaya heartbreaking siya... So, iyon, ta’s parang naano ako na, parang sabi ko sa sarili ko talaga na, ‘It’s really for the Philippines’ itong laban ko talaga (I learned about the Tacloban City Astrodome incident on the morning of November 9. Even I... it seems impossible, but it [the tragedy] happened, so it was heartbreaking. So that's when I told myself that ‘It’s really for the Philippines.’).”
“From the start, iyong... naging mas meaningful kung ano man iyong makukuha ko. And, thank God, dahil kahit papaano, 'di ba, malaking achievement na rin sa akin ito (From the start, the competition became more meaningful, whatevever the outcome is. And, thank God, because at least [placing third runner-up] it was still a big achievement.).”
While Ariella shared that she doesn't have concrete plans yet, she revealed that she will most likely donate her Miss Universe cash prize to the super typhoon victims.
(Photo courtesy of PEP.ph)
