WATCH: Miss Universe Philippines 2020 candidates answer fun, tough questions

Nine months after the search for Miss Universe Philippines 2020 started, the pageant has officially started the final stretch to the finals.  The candidates arrived at the Holiday Inn Express at Resorts World Manila on October 13 – where they first underwent a PCR swab test for the coronavirus. Only when a candidate tests negative for COVID-19 will she be allowed to participate in the succeeding events leading up to the finals. 

It was the first time that the candidates convened in one location since the quarantine was implemented in March. The organization took this opportunity to invite a select group of media to Zoom interviews set over 2 days.

In this new set-up, the MUP organization organized several Zoom meeting rooms, and the candidates were let into the rooms by groups. Interviews were strictly limited to a maximum of 3 minutes per candidate in order to accommodate everyone.

During the past months, the interaction between the media and the candidates have been largely through their social media accounts. There was a bit of familiarity with the candidates even though it was only virtual. The most common reaction was that it was nice to finally be able to talk to each other at least and not merely like or comment on the social media pages.

On Day 1 of the interviews, I was not aware that all the candidates in the group would be inside the Zoom meeting room and could listen to the interviews preceding them. In any event, the candidates were still able to give quite distinct answers from one another that was most true to themselves. The candidates were grouped according to the question they answered.

On Day 2 of the interviews, I came with a huge set of questions so that the candidates would not be overlapping questions. In the videos, the videos were arranged in the order they entered the Zoom Meeting room.

As the finals are fast approaching, get to know the candidates and how they perform in a Q&A set-up. It reveals not only how they communicate but also gives a glimpse into their personalities. 

The Miss Universe Philippines 2020 finals will be aired on GMA on October 25 at 9:00 am. If you want to watch in HD without commercials, subscribe to the Ring Light series at www.empire.ph for P299. – Rappler.com