TVC E, ENTERTAINMENT – The new Miss Universe, Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach, back in the Philippines after an epic televised blunder surrounding her crowning, has said she would use the attention the incident attracted to campaign for HIV awareness, especially in her home country.
In front of an estimated one billion television viewers worldwide last December, pageant host Steve Harvey mistakenly announced Miss Colombia, Ariadna Gutierrez, as Miss Universe before correcting himself minutes later.
Speaking to reporters about her plans, Miss Wurtzbach said she would undergo a “public testing” for HIV when she returns to the United States where the Miss Universe Organization is based, to erase the stigma surrounding the disease.
The Philippines reported a 22 percent increase in HIV infections year-on-year in September last year. Four in ten of the new cases were reported in the capital Manila.
