Does this mean reigning Miss Universe Pia Wurtzbach won’t be able to fulfill her dream of crowning her successor in the Philippines?
READ: Pia Wurtzbach: ‘It’s my personal dream for PH to host Miss Universe pageant’
READ: Duterte OKs plans to hold Miss Universe in the Philippines, but…
President Rodrigo Duterte said he would not spend money on hosting the Miss Universe pageant in the Philippines.
“(Duterte) said that the government has to prioritize other things, including its drive for higher infrastructure spending,” Rappler reports.
Duterte was also quoted as to saying, during a “relaxed conversation among friends in Davao”: “Dili ko [mugasto].”
(I would not spend money on that)
Department of Tourism (DOT) secretary Wanda Teo earlier said that Duterte “approved in principle” her proposal to have the country host the next Miss Universe pageant.
Teo estimated the budget for the pageant to reach around P560 million.
LOOK: Pia Wurtzbach takes selfie with President Rodrigo Duterte
Pia met Duterte earlier this month to talk about the possibility of hosting the Miss Universe pageant in the country.
The Philippines last hosted the Miss Universe pageant in 1994.
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