A post shared by katherine Espín (@kathespin) on Jul 15, 2017 at 6:29am PDT

MANILA – Miss Earth 2016 Katherine Espin was spotted on the red carpet of President Rodrigo Duterte’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) at the Batasang Pambansa on Monday.

Espin was seen wearing a black terno designed by Oliver Tolentino. She joined Isabela vice governor Tonypet Albano.

“I’m very honored to be attending the SONA,” she said in an interview with ABS-CBN News’ Mario Dumaual.

“I want to hear, of course, great news from the President because I believe he’s been working a lot of the country… and the environment, of course.”

Surprise guest at sona Miss earth katherine espin wearing terno @abscbnnews pic.twitter.com/sxk38eT5ls

— Mario Dumaual (@mariovdumaual) July 24, 2017

Hours before the event, Espin posted a photo of the invitation she received for SONA 2017.

A post shared by katherine Espín (@kathespin) on Jul 23, 2017 at 7:14pm PDT

Espin, who hails from Ecuador, had a controversial win in last year’s Miss Earth pageant. The country’s representative in Miss Earth 2016, Imelda Schweighart, previously accused Espin of wearing the gown intended for her.

Schweighart, who failed to make it to the Top 16, has since apologized for her “unmindful statements” and resigned as Miss Philippines Earth.

Espin, meanwhile, thanked Filipinos for supporting her amid the controversy.