Beauty queens, celebs praise Maxine Medina's Miss Universe performance

Maxine Medina may not have secured a back-to-back Miss Universe win for the country, but she is the source of pride of Filipinos.

Beauty queens congratulated her for making it to the Top 6 of the 65th Miss Universe pageant held at the Mall of Asia Arena on Monday.

Miss France Iris Mittenaere, a dental student, was declared the winner of the international pageant.

Charlene Gonzales, who was among the Top 6 in the 1994 Miss Universe pageant that was held in Manila, posted a message for Maxine in her Instagram account.

"Congratulations [Maxine Medina]. We are proud of u. It is not easy to be representing your country. Especially, when the pageant is held in your homeland. The pressure is immense," she wrote.

 

?Congratulations @maxine_medina. ? We are proud of u. ???? It is not easy to be representing your country. Especially, when the pageant is held in your homeland. The pressure is immense. Victories and defeats are magnified. I commend you Maxine for being a strong woman & for pushing forward despite the pressure & challenges being thrown your way. That for me shows strength, character and true attributes of a queen. Us Filipinos are "one" in supporting you. ?Here's looking to an exciting future ahead as an abundance of blessings awaits you. Again, we are proud of you and Congratulations..Maxine ?????????? #top6 #beautiful #MissUniverse #MissPhilippines #proudlyfilipina #pilipinaskongmahal ??????????

A photo posted by Charlene Gonzalez-Muhlach (@itsmecharleneg) on

Jan 30, 2017 at 7:30pm PST

Miss International 2016 Kylie Verzosa tweeted that Maxine "did well."

Congratulations @maxinemedina! You did well! We are proud of you.

— Kylie (@KylieVerzosa) January 30, 2017

Miss Universe 2012 First Runner-Up Janine Tugonon, in an interview with GMA News, said that she supported Maxine's controversial decision to speak English during the Question and Answer portion of the pageant.

In a tweet, Miss Universe 1999 1st Runner-Up Miriam Quiambao congratulated Maxine and thanked her for representing the country.

We are proud of you @maxinemedina! Thank you for representing our country! #MissUniverse #Philippines

— Miriam Quiambao (@miriamq) January 30, 2017

There were also celebrities who had messages for Maxine.

Kapuso actress Solenn Heussaff congratulated Maxine, and all the other beauty queens who competed in the pageant.

#MissUniverse congrats Maxine! And congrats to all the women up there! All beautiful and strong women. Make us proud :)

— Solenn Heussaff (@solennheussaff) January 30, 2017

Singer Ogie Alcacid also made sure to express his pride for the Philippines' bet.

We are proud of you #MaxineMedina

— ogie alcasid (@ogiealcasid) January 30, 2017

Isabelle Daza, daughter of Miss Universe 1969 Gloria Diaz, said that Maxine is still a queen to Filipinos.

Congrats Ms France, @IrisMittenaereO we are proud of you @maxinemedina you are a kween to us ???????? meanwhile here's tb to my Miss U moment lol pic.twitter.com/1eTWqxICF2

— Isabelle Daza (@isabelledaza) January 30, 2017

— BAP, GMA News