Sinulog Festival Queen 2020 Monika Afable, selling “biridbirid” amid the pandemic to save for her needs and to help her family in times of crisis. | Photo from Pageanthology-101 Philippines.
CEBU CITY, Philippines—There is real beauty in humility.
Sinulog Festival Queen 2020 Monika Afable showed netizens that even as a titleholder, she could still be herself in her hometown in Borongan City, Eastern Samar.
Yesterday, Sunday, July 12, 2020 photos of Afable selling “biridbirid” in their area circulated online.
With the photo being shared online, people were curious as to why this 17-year-old beauty queen chose to sell “biridbirid” or locally known here in Cebu as “siakoy.”
But the Borongan City, Eastern Samar beauty queen has always had a good head with regards to raising funds especially for a just cause — like what she did last January 23, 2020 where she sold T-Shirts for Taal volcano eruption victims.
Read more: Cebu Sinulog Festival Queen selling T-shirts to raise funds for Taal volcano victims
In a message sent by Afable to CDN Digital, she said that she did it because she wanted to save up for her own expenses while helping her family.
She said that they had been selling “biridbirid” since she was still in grade four, but she had to stop last March due to the lockdown.
“We started selling again yesterday. I help my grandmother in preparing and I also sell it. Half kami nang kikitan-in kasi gusto ko mag save kasi kulang pa yung pera ko pang bili ng puppy hehe,” she said.
(We started selling again yesterday. I help my grandmother in preparing and I also sell it. We split the profit because I like to save some for myself because I am still short on the money to buy a puppy.)
With no makeup, minus the lavish gowns and headdresses, Afable in her casual clothes still managed to look beautiful while carrying a container full of “biridbirid” which she sells for P10 apiece.
Being a titleholder and a beauty queen, Afable said that it could not stop her from helping her family in ways she could, especially now that she could not join competitions and earn due to the pandemic.
“No, I am not ashamed. My grandmother always told me that you should not be ashamed of anything as long as you will not harm anyone. I also love helping my family, help my grandma, because by this I can help her and I love to see her smile,” she added.
Monika Afable crowned as the Sinulog Festival Queen 2020 last January. | File photo.
Read more: Borongan City’s lead dancer is Sinulog Festival Queen 2020
Afable wowed the crowd in Cebu last January 2020 as she took a number of awards aside from the Sinulog Festival Queen title, such as Best in Runway, Miss Mega Sardines, Miss Tender Juicy, Miss McDo Queen and Miss Robinsons Galleria./ dbs