Former Miss Universe Philippines MJ Lastimosa was quick to defend Philippine candidate Rabiya Mateo amid criticisms over the latter’s national costume, explaining how heavy the outfit was.

Lastimosa, who is one of the most vocal supporters of Mateo, highlighted how the Iloilo native carried her wings that weighed at least 21 kilograms.

She went on to lash out at critics, reminding them that the real competition is in the preliminary round.

“21kls yun pakpak mga mars kalma lang kayo. She carried it like it’s featherweight. Dami parin hanash haaaa. Dun tayo sa prelims totodo,” Lastimosa tweeted.

“Yung iniintindi mo na nga yung bash ng neighboring countries iintindihin mo pa pambabash ng kapwa mo,” she added.

Beat her , hate her , but you can never break a determined woman with a pure heart 👊🏽🇵🇭✨ pic.twitter.com/jqS02QJFSM

— MJ Lastimosa (@MJ_Lastimosa) May 14, 2021

Mateo wore an outfit inspired by the Philippine flag during the national costume competition.

A clip of her backstage was also posted on the Miss Universe Twitter page, with the beauty queen doing a heart sign in front of the camera.

"I feel like I'm a Victoria's Secret angel right now," she said.

Some Filipino fans appeared to be disappointed in Mateo's costume with others looking for the missing headpiece she should have worn in the event.

• Why Rabiya Mateo didn't wear a headpiece during national costume competition

Miss Universe Philippines national director Shamcey Supsup explained the reason behind this in an interview with ABS-CBN News' MJ Felipe, saying that the headpiece kept falling off whenever Mateo tried to wear it.

"I'm pretty sure alam niyo naman na I brought the headpiece for Rabiya but unfortunately it was... she couldn't [wear it]. Nahuhulog," she explained.

"It was hard for her to wear it, so we decided na kung saan siya mas komportable," she continued. "Mabigat na rin kasi 'yung wings niya in the first place."

"We're so sad na hindi nasuot but still, Rabiya was able to give us a powerful performance."

• Emotional Rabiya Mateo apologizes over performance in national costume competition

The Pinay bet seemed to have read some comments as she turned emotional on an Instagram live, apologizing if some of her fans were "disappointed" with her performance.

"I'm so sorry kung na-disappoint man kayo sa akin. But I know na I did my best. I even cut my finger earlier and 'yung stockings ko puno na rin siya ng dugo. But I kept fighting," she said.

"Kahit wala nang oras, I didn't have time to retouch my hair, to retouch my makeup. I was running for pins, I was running for scissors, for everything, just to be able to execute the costume really well," she added.

Lastimosa, on the other hand, posted her conversation with Mateo after the show where the candidate said she felt beautiful in her costume.

“Beat her, hate her , but you can never break a determined woman with a pure heart,” Lastimosa said on her tweet.

Mateo is gearing up for the May 16 finals night (morning of May 17 in Manila), as she eyes the fifth Miss Universe crown for the country.

She is the first representative under Miss Universe Philippines, which is headed by Supsup and beauty queen maker Jonas Gaffud.

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