Miss Pasay Celeste Cortesi wins Miss Universe Philippines 2022!

Celeste Cortesi of Pasay City has been hailed as the Miss Universe Philippines 2022!

She was crowned by Miss Universe Philippines 2021 Beatrice Luigi Gomez in the coronation night at the Mall of Asia Arena on Saturday.

Following Celeste are Miss Makati Michelle Dee as Miss Universe Philippines Tourism and Miss Miss Bohol Pauline Amelinckx as Miss Universe Philippines Charity.

Miss Misamis Oriental Annabelle McDonnell is the 1st runner-up while Miss Taguig Katrina Llegado is the 2nd runner-up.

In the Question and Answer portion, Celeste was asked, "If you could stop time for a day, how would you spend it?"

This was her winning answer: "If I could stop time, I would spend it with my family, especially with my mother. It's been two years since I've seen my family because they live in Italy and I came here in the Philippines just by myself. So if I had the chance to spend one day, I would definitely be with my mom and I would just tell her how much I love her and I miss her."

In the casual interview earlier, she was asked: "You grew up in both Italy and the Philippines. What would you say are your best Filipino and Italian traits?"

She answered, "If there is something that I can say that is in common with Italian heritage and Filipino heritage is that we are strong women and that we always value family. If there is something that my mom always taught me is be grateful for your family, for your loved ones, and people around you, because when you're grateful and kind, people will be kind as well and grateful for you."

Celeste also won the Best in Swimsuit and Miss Photogenic awards.

GMA-7 will broadcast the Miss Universe Philippines coronation event on Sunday, May 1, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. – RC, GMA News