Senate lauds Bulakeña for winning beauty pageant in Ecuador

The Senate adopted a resolution today commending Jeslyn Santos for being the first Asian to win the Miss United Continents pageant held at the Palacio de Cristal in Guayaquil, Ecuador, last September 24.

Senator Joel Villanueva, who introduced Senate Resolution 175, said that Santos deserved "our warmest gratitude for bringing pride and glory to the Filipino people" by winning the 2016 Miss United Continents.

"The Filipina beauty queen's positive and strong determination to fulfill her dream of winning the title is indeed a positive example and great inspiration to her countrymen, particularly the youth, that no dream is impossible as long as he or she put his or her heart and mind in it," Villanueva said in his resolution.

She charmed her way to the crown with an impressive speech in Spanish, the resolution added.

Santos, 23, a broadcast communications graduate from the Bulacan State University, bested 28 other contestants from around the world for the title. She is the first Asian delegate to win Miss United Continents since its debut in 2012 in Ecuador.

Santos was crowned by Nathalia Paiva Lago who was the winner of Miss United Continents 2015 from Brazil.

Santos, who will return to Ecuador in December for charity work, said she would like to focus her reign as Miss United Continents towards helping senior citizens.