Michelle Dee says her evening gown walk was a tribute to mom Melanie Marquez

Michelle Dee said her evening gown walk at the recently concluded Miss Universe Philippines 2023 pageant was a tribute to her mom, Melanie Marquez.

In an interview with Vicky Morales and Mel Tiangco on "24 Oras," Monday, the newly crowned queen said Melanie missed the pageant last year when she won first runner-up.

Now that her mom was able to watch her compete, Michelle wanted to do something special to honor her.

"We paid tribute to her famous S-walk, her famous supermodel poses. But s'yempre kasi since I'm the one on stage, we wanted to make sure that my personality shined as well," she said.

"Kaya ayun, you'll see a lot of me but a lot of Melanie Marquez as well."

READ: 5 interesting facts about Miss Universe Philippines 2023 Michelle Dee

Michelle is a second-generation beauty queen, as her mom Melanie is the Miss International 1979.

Her special tribute to her mom paid off: Michelle won the Best in Evening Gown award before eventually winning the crown.

After her coronation, Michelle greeted Melanie a happy Mother's Day when her mom came up on stage to congratulate her.

"The first thing that she told me was she was so proud of me and she really saw na ako daw po yung nag shine the brightest that night," she said.

"I just felt nothing but gratitude because I am doing this for her, I wanted this to be the best mother's day gift that I could give her."

Michelle will compete in the Miss Universe pageant in El Salvador later this year.

—MGP, GMA Integrated News