Miss Universe Philippines 2020 Rabiya Mateo: ‘Resiliency is overused. We need tangible and visible solutions’

Miss Universe Philippines 2020 Rabiya Mateo weighed in on the much-debated term “Filipino resilience” during an interview with GMA-7’s Kapuso Mo Jessica Soho (KMJS) that aired Sunday evening.

In the interview (conducted a day before Rabiya’s Iloilo homecoming), host Jessica Soho asked Rabiya what’s the biggest challenge she has gone through in her life.

Rabiya answered that it was during Super Typhoon Yolanda, which directly hit her hometown of Balasan, Iloilo. She said the typhoon almost toppled their house and they wrote on the roads the words “we need help” and “we need food” as they pleaded for assistance.

“Now that there are typhoons Rolly and Ulysses, I really feel the suffering of our kababayans,” said Rabiya, who launched a donation drive for the victims of the said typhoons.

During the interview, Jessica Soho also mentioned how others perceive Filipinos’ resiliency.

Rabiya weighed in: “’Yung resiliency, overused siya (resiliency is overused). To the point that sometimes, we don’t look at the problems to find the solution. And we just tell other people that all we need to do is have a positive mindset and we’re going to overcome this. But where are the tangible programs to help the people being affected by such situations?”

Rabiya clarified that it helps to have a positive mindset, but she also stressed that “kailangan natin magkaroon ng tangible and visible solution. Hindi tayo mag-llearn, hindi natin mapapabuti ang community natin if puro resiliency nalang (we need tangible and visible solutions. We will not learn, we will not be able to improve our community if we settle on resiliency).”