CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (MindaNews / 22 Dec) – The local government here is planning to hold a big homecoming for newly crowned Miss Universe Pia Wurtzbach if pageant organizers will permit her to visit her second hometown.
Maricel Casino Rivera, chief of the Cagayan de Oro Information Officer, said the planned homecoming is dependent on the approval of the Miss Universe pageant organizers who sets the schedule of the beauty queen.
“We are in gratitude that Pia considers Cagayan de Oro as her second home. This is why we want to honor her,” Rivera said.
Mayor Oscar Moreno said Cagayan de Oro is deeply honored that Pia considers the city as her second home next to Manila.
“Just like the homecoming we had for her when she won the Binibining Pilipinas title, we are looking forward on holding another one to our Miss Universe,” Moreno said.
Pia attended kindergarten classes at Kong Hua High School and later at Corpus Christi High school for her primary education.
She stayed at Corpus Christi until Grade 4 when her mother, Cheryl Alonzo, separated from her German father, Uwe Wurtzbach.
Pia grew up at the Golden Village Subdivision here and would frequently go to nearby Iligan City where her mother’s family sells tasty buko bar ice cream.
In her interview with the local media during her homecoming early this year, Pia said she considers Cagayan de Oro her second home even if their family has no relatives in the city.
She said she was frequently teased by her classmates because of her height and that bothered her so much that she became an introvert preferring to be alone rather than mingle with other children.
“At school, I was a wallflower. I was always the last person in the flag ceremony because I was the tallest. It was difficult to have a crush because you are too tall for the boys,” Pia was quoted by SunStar as saying.
Pia though have fond memories of her mischief during her childhood days stealing buko bar from the family store in Iligan, the Real BukoBar & Cold Products.
Her parents separated when Pia was 11 and her mother brought her to Malabon, where the Alonzos also have a buko bar business started by her grandfather.
Pia was born on Sept. 24, 1989 in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
Her win elicited a storm among young Cagayan de Oro residents who have eagerly followed the Miss Universe Pageant on Monday.
“We are so proud of this woman. Congratulations Pia!!! All your hard work and sacrifices have finally paid off,” Sarcy Corpus, presidents of the Jaycees here, said in her FB post.
Mary Mikaela Montalban said, “Way to go Pia! You never gave up to reach your dreams. You are an inspiration. So proud of you. You brought pride and honor to our city, Cagayan de Oro, and our country, Philippines.”