Michelle Dee on receiving strong support during the Miss Universe 2023 pageant: 'Hindi ko lang 'to laban. Laban ito ng buong Pilipinas'

Michelle Dee is back in the Philippines and quickly went back to work, joining the "Unang Hirit" barkada on Monday morning for a short kwentuhan on the recently concluded Miss Universe pageant.

This is the Kapuso beauty queen's second international competition, and while building relationships is often her main takeaway from such experiences, this time around, it's the Filipinos bayanihan spirit that made a mark on Michelle.

"Hindi ko in-expect yung bayanihan spirit to be this strong," Michelle said, still quite overwhelmed and surprised with the love and support she's experienced from Filipinos.

"Everyone rallied together. [It made me feel that] hindi ko lang 'to laban, Laban ng buong Pilipinas," she continued.

When some UH hosts egged her, saying people were still fighting for her, Michelle said she knew the whole country was fighting for her.

"Alam ko na may lumalaban para sa 'kin. Nakakataba talaga ng puso," she said.

According to Michelle, her goal "when I left for El Salvador was to make the country know I did my best." And from the looks of it, Michelle most certainly accomplished it. 

Despite settling for a Top 10 finish at the Miss Universe pageant in El Salvador, Michelle raised the Philippine flag beautifully. She was a total knockout, especially during the preliminary swimsuit competition, her black Apo Whang-Od inspired evening gown stunned most everybody, and her national costume made huge waves enough for her to win the Best National Costume award. In total, Michelle won four special awards. 

On Instagram upon landing home, Michelle said "with or without the crown, all of you made me feel like I was a winner."— LA, GMA Integrated News