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“We are working very hard in letting that happen,” so said reigning Miss Universe Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach amid rumors of the cancellation of the proposed hosting of the pageant in the Philippines next year.
Speculations that the pageant would no longer be held in the Philippines started when Tourism Undersecretary Kat de Castro posted a Facebook status saying she was crying with Wurtzbach.
But Wurtzbach urged the public not to immediately jump into conclusions and said it was best to wait for official announcement from the organizers.
“I understand that people are easy to jump to that conclusion,” she said at a brand event on Thursday, referring to rumors that her crying was due to the cancellation.
“Unless there’s a final announcement from the Miss Universe Organization (MUO), I can’t say that it’s happening or not,” she added.
The 27-year old beauty queen assured that they were working hard for the Philippines to get the hosting rights next year.
“With regard to the Miss Universe being (held) here, I think, we are working very hard in letting that happen and I just … please bear with us guys, we are really working hard and very soon, I promise we will have an announcement. So let’s all just be excited for that,” she said.
In a statement sent to Inquirer.net, De Castro said the Department of Tourism was not aware of the rumored cancellation as meetings with the Miss Universe Organization were still ongoing.
READ: Miss U tilt in PH not canceled–DOT
“We are not aware of any cancellation for Miss Universe. We are still having ongoing meetings with the MUO. Let us wait for official announcements before jumping into any conclusion,” De Castro said.
Reports earlier cited that political instability, security concerns and the Philippines not paying the hosting fee yet as the reasons for the cancellation.