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Body positivity advocate wins Mutya ng Dabaw crown

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Once bullied for her plus-sized figure, Hanna Maj Piccio’s years of overcoming discrimination and her own doubts while relentlessly championing body positivity and empowerment paid off when she was crowned the 2024 Mutya ng Dabaw.

“The moment they called my number, I couldn’t believe it. I took like three seconds of pause. I just cried. It’s so surreal, you know, for a big girl like me to get a crown like this, which is so unheard of in the pageant industry,” Piccio said right after being crowned as the 51st Mutya ng Dabaw.

Many hailed Piccio’s triumph as a game-changer, as it defied the norms and stereotypes of a beauty pageant winner.

The 22-year-old, who is currently studying law at Ateneo de Davao, describes herself as the “Biggest Mutya,” bringing to the spotlight her campaign for body positivity and using the pageant as a platform to spread her message.

“Going into the pageant, it felt like I was fighting wave after wave of beauty standards and stereotypes. What kept me strong throughout this whole journey is my purpose. I am not just here for myself; I am here for every Dabawenya who has been discriminated against for their body,” Piccio boldly declared during her introductory speech at the coronation night held March 15 at the University of Southeastern Gymnasium.

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The 22- year-old law student Hanna Maj Piccio is also a filmmaker, travel vlogger and an environmentalist
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Bullied kid

Piccio recounted being bullied as a kid, which inspired her to launch the advocacy of body positivity.

“I am here to stop barriers and stereotypes that have plagued women for so long, and most of all, I am here for a little girl  who once secretly cried in the school bathroom, wishing and praying that she’ll have a thinner body so she will have love and respect, and that little girl is me saying, it is not what you look like that defines you, but it is what you do to make this world a better place that defines who you are,” Piccio capped her message during the coronation, which elicited applause and admiration from the audience.

The newly crowned Mutya ng Dabaw said that as a candidate, she was bashed by people who predicted she wouldn't win because of her figure.

“Nag-ingon sila na dili jud mudaog ang tambok, bisan bright or gwapa dili jud na mudaog,” she recalled.

(They said fat people will not win; even if they are beautiful orbright, they still won’t win.)

Piccio said the bashers and haters didn’t realize that their stereotypical views wereher greatest motivation for joining Mutya ng Dabaw. She was determined to prove them wrong.

This is Piccio’s second foray into Mutya ng Dabaw. Last year, she joined the pageant,was one of the 30 finalists, and won the Best in Talent award.  This year, she defended her Best in Talent award

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and was also named Miss Ecotourism. Her tourism video was also one of the five finalists for the Best Tourism Campaign Video.Aside from body positivity advocacy,

Piccio is also a filmmaker and an environmentalist, making documentary films about the environment. She is the project leader of Sibol, a youth advocacy group that calls for the conservation of the Davao Gulf.


Advocacies

During her reign, she will be actively engaging in her advocacies in the environment and body positivity, going to the grassroots and the youth to share her message.

One of the projects is a school caravan that will focus on promoting body positivity in teachers, parents, and students.

Channeling her filmmaking and vlogging influence, Piccio said she will be making a Mutya channel on the video sharing site YouTube, where the events and activities participated in by the Mutya ng Dabaw court are shown.

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“I want a reign that is transparent so that we can elevate the community and redefine Mutya ng Dabaw so that the whole Dabawenyos would know,” the newly crowned Mutya ng Dabaw said.

Joining Piccio in this year’s Mutya ng Dabaw court are Jan Marine Rendon (Diwa ng Dabaw), Euanne Preglo (Sinag ng Dabaw), Fredelma Nova Corporal (Pag-Asa ng Dabaw), and Abigail Balili (Patnubay ng Dabaw).

Mutya ng Dabaw is one of the highlight events of the 87th Araw ng Dabaw, and Piccio’s game changing victory fits the vision of the pageant first held in 1969; more than just being a pageant, it is a search for the symbol of the hopes and aspirations of Dabawenyos, represented by the beauty and character of an ideal woman. (RGA/PIA Davao)

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Mutya ng Dabaw 2024 Hanna Maj Piccio (center) and her court; Diwa ng Dabaw Jan Marine Rendon (second from left), Sinag ng Dabaw Euanne Preglo (second from right), Pag-asa ng Dabaw Fredelma Nova Corporal (leftmost) and Patnubay ng Dabaw Abigail Balili (rightmost)

About the Author

Rudolph Ian Alama

Regional Editor

Region 11

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