Miss Universe Philippines 2021 Beatrice Luigi Gomez. Image: Facebook/Binibining Pilipinas, Instagram/@beatriceluigigmz
CEBU CITY––A warm welcome awaits newly crowned Miss Universe Philippines 2021 Beatrice Luigi Gomez upon her return to the Queen City of the South.
Acting Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama said he had instructed the tourism commission to prepare a hero’s welcome once Gomez arrives in the city.
“My heartfelt congratulations to our very own Bea Gomez for earning the honor to represent our country in the 70th Miss Universe pageant,” he said.
“We had a wonderful conversation when you paid me a courtesy visit (before the competition). Your fellow citizens in Cebu City are confident that you will make it in Israel in December,” he added.
Jocelyn Pesquera, chair of the city’s tourism commission, said they were discussing the activities to honor Gomez.
To avoid mass gatherings amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Pesquera said there would be a mixed physical and virtual affair, so many people could take part in the activity.
She said the event would be broadcast live through social media sites or via Zoom.
“We will have a presentation because we are so proud that Bea represented Cebu City, and now she is Miss Universe Philippines,” Pesquera said.
Unknown to many, Gomez performed her runway challenge video at the New Normal Oasis for Adaptation and a Home (NOAH) Complex at the South Road Properties in Cebu City.
Pesquera, also the manager of the NOAH Complex, said the city government needs to be creative since quarantine restrictions would not allow a grand welcome for Gomez.
Cebu City is under the less stringent general community quarantine status, where health protocols are observed.
Gomez bested 27 candidates during the pageant finals in Bohol last Sept. 30.
She succeeded Miss Universe Philippines 2020 Rabiya Mateo of Iloilo City and will represent in December the Philippines at the Miss Universe 2021 pageant in Eilat, Israel.
Gomez, 26, has been a proud member of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual (LGBTQIA+) community.
During the pageant, Gomez openly talked about her sexual orientation and gender identity status.
The first bisexual Miss Universe Philippines winner also has been very vocal about her girlfriend, Kate Jagdon, a disc jockey in Cebu.
In an Instagram post, she described herself as non-binary, saying “sometimes I’m Beatrice/Bea, other days I feel like being Luigi. It’s about being feminine and masculine at the same time.”