MANILA, Philippines - After showcasing their beauty clad in their national costumes, swimsuits and evening gowns, the top 6 Miss Universe finalists proved they also got the brains by answering tough questions in the question and answer portion of the prestigious pageant.
While beauty remains to be a top consideration in choosing the new Miss Universe, the candidates’ answer to the questions also helped judges in selecting the rightful lady to the crown.
Top 6 Q&A
Here are the answers of the top 6 candidates during the competition:
Maxine Medina (Philippines)
Question: What is the most significant change you’ve seen in the world in the last 10 years?
Answer: In the last 10 years of being here in the world, I saw all the people bringing in one event like this in Miss Universe. It’s something big to us that we are one. As one nation, we are all together. Thank you. Maraming salamat po.
Mary Esther Were (Kenya)
Question : Arguably, no United States president has had a more active first 10 days in office. What are you most excited about and what most concerns you when it comes to the presidency of Donald Trump?
Answer: Politics is... Okay, let me just start again. Donald Trump has been elected as the president of the United States. (He) may not be the choice of many people living in the United States because of the divided support system for the outgoing president, Barack Obama who supported an upcoming woman president, who was supposed to be a woman president, Hillary Clinton, so so many people opposed his position. But I feel that once he took up his position, he was able to unify the entire nation.
Chalita Suansane (Thailand)
Question: Name a current or past leader whom you admire, and why.
Answer: For me, the King of Thailand. His Majesty has been working tirelessly on behalf of the Thai people ever since I was born. For all the Thai people, His Majesty has been like a father to us. Thank you very much.
Iris Mittenaere (France)
Question: Given today's worldwide refugee crisis, do countries have an obligation to accept refugees or do they have a right to close their borders?
Answer: The country should have the right to open or close their borders so throughout the world, people can choose to have the borders opened or closed. In Europe, we have opened borders. In France, we want to have the most globalization that we can. We want to have the biggest exchange of people that we can. And maybe someday that will change, but now, we have opened borders.So having opened borders allows us to travel more through the world and to find out more about what's out there in the world. Thank you very much.
RELATED STORY
What was Miss Universe Iris Mittenaere's exact answer to the Top 3 Q&A?
Raquel Pelissier (Haiti)
Question : On January 21st, an estimated 4.8 million people marched worldwide for human rights, women's rights and other issues. If you were able to participate, what would you have been marching for?
Answer: Hello, everybody. One of my, one of the women I admire in the world is Eleanor Roosevelt because she fought so much for human rights. And I feel that that's what we need in the world. We are just one. A hundred thousand years ago, 6 species of human lived in the world. Now, we are just one and we all need each other and we need to respect each other.
Andrea Tovar (Colombia)
Question: Why do you believe that violence is so prevalent in today's society and what can we do about it?
Answer: Well, I come from a country that does have violence, and this is my reference point. And although there are presidents who don't get along well with others, we work together to be able to unite. Campaigns, respect and inclusivity to be able to have a social transformation that will educate our children. Thank you very much.
Top 3 Q&A
For the top three finalists, only one question was asked. While one candidate was asked to answer the question, the two others waited for their turn with noise-cancellation headphones on.
Question: Name something from the course of your life that you failed at, and tell us what you learned from that experience.
Miss Colombia Andrea Tovar who emerged as second runner- up said: "I think many times, one makes mistakes for many things; during moments when you may not accept someone due to their differences, to not accept them due to their sexual preferences, and to not be capable of accepting their error--I think any of those experiences gives you the opportunity to have strength and value and principles.”
Miss Haiti and Miss Universe 2016 first runner-up Raquel Pelissier responded: "About seven years ago, I survived the earthquake. I felt I was filing myself because I wasn't living my dreams; I was living day by day, and that earthquake, it was a bad event, but I chose to be a very positive person and learn a great lesson from it because if I am here today, it's because I am living my dreams."
Miss France Iris Mittenaere who took home the crown said: “I've failed several times in my life. I thought I failed the first time I went out on a casting because my name wasn't on the list, and the very next day I found that I was in a new book. So, I think that when you fail, you have to be elevated, and you have to try again and keep going. If tonight, I'm not one of the winners, I would still have had the great honour of being one of the three finalists. So, I think that I have failed before, but for me this is a great first opportunity."
RELATED STORY
--Mini, The Summit Express
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| Miss Universe 2016 Top 6 candidates. |
Top 6 Q&A
Here are the answers of the top 6 candidates during the competition:
Maxine Medina (Philippines)
Question: What is the most significant change you’ve seen in the world in the last 10 years?
Answer: In the last 10 years of being here in the world, I saw all the people bringing in one event like this in Miss Universe. It’s something big to us that we are one. As one nation, we are all together. Thank you. Maraming salamat po.
Mary Esther Were (Kenya)
Question : Arguably, no United States president has had a more active first 10 days in office. What are you most excited about and what most concerns you when it comes to the presidency of Donald Trump?
Answer: Politics is... Okay, let me just start again. Donald Trump has been elected as the president of the United States. (He) may not be the choice of many people living in the United States because of the divided support system for the outgoing president, Barack Obama who supported an upcoming woman president, who was supposed to be a woman president, Hillary Clinton, so so many people opposed his position. But I feel that once he took up his position, he was able to unify the entire nation.
Chalita Suansane (Thailand)
Question: Name a current or past leader whom you admire, and why.
Answer: For me, the King of Thailand. His Majesty has been working tirelessly on behalf of the Thai people ever since I was born. For all the Thai people, His Majesty has been like a father to us. Thank you very much.
Iris Mittenaere (France)
Question: Given today's worldwide refugee crisis, do countries have an obligation to accept refugees or do they have a right to close their borders?
Answer: The country should have the right to open or close their borders so throughout the world, people can choose to have the borders opened or closed. In Europe, we have opened borders. In France, we want to have the most globalization that we can. We want to have the biggest exchange of people that we can. And maybe someday that will change, but now, we have opened borders.So having opened borders allows us to travel more through the world and to find out more about what's out there in the world. Thank you very much.
RELATED STORY
What was Miss Universe Iris Mittenaere's exact answer to the Top 3 Q&A?
Raquel Pelissier (Haiti)
Question : On January 21st, an estimated 4.8 million people marched worldwide for human rights, women's rights and other issues. If you were able to participate, what would you have been marching for?
Answer: Hello, everybody. One of my, one of the women I admire in the world is Eleanor Roosevelt because she fought so much for human rights. And I feel that that's what we need in the world. We are just one. A hundred thousand years ago, 6 species of human lived in the world. Now, we are just one and we all need each other and we need to respect each other.
Andrea Tovar (Colombia)
Question: Why do you believe that violence is so prevalent in today's society and what can we do about it?
Answer: Well, I come from a country that does have violence, and this is my reference point. And although there are presidents who don't get along well with others, we work together to be able to unite. Campaigns, respect and inclusivity to be able to have a social transformation that will educate our children. Thank you very much.
Top 3 Q&A
For the top three finalists, only one question was asked. While one candidate was asked to answer the question, the two others waited for their turn with noise-cancellation headphones on.
Question: Name something from the course of your life that you failed at, and tell us what you learned from that experience.
Miss Colombia Andrea Tovar who emerged as second runner- up said: "I think many times, one makes mistakes for many things; during moments when you may not accept someone due to their differences, to not accept them due to their sexual preferences, and to not be capable of accepting their error--I think any of those experiences gives you the opportunity to have strength and value and principles.”
Miss Haiti and Miss Universe 2016 first runner-up Raquel Pelissier responded: "About seven years ago, I survived the earthquake. I felt I was filing myself because I wasn't living my dreams; I was living day by day, and that earthquake, it was a bad event, but I chose to be a very positive person and learn a great lesson from it because if I am here today, it's because I am living my dreams."
Miss France Iris Mittenaere who took home the crown said: “I've failed several times in my life. I thought I failed the first time I went out on a casting because my name wasn't on the list, and the very next day I found that I was in a new book. So, I think that when you fail, you have to be elevated, and you have to try again and keep going. If tonight, I'm not one of the winners, I would still have had the great honour of being one of the three finalists. So, I think that I have failed before, but for me this is a great first opportunity."
RELATED STORY
--Mini, The Summit Express
