Harvey may still be next year’s Miss U host

MANILA, Philippines - There is enough time to win President Duterte over about having Steve Harvey as host of the Miss Universe pageant to be held in the Philippines in January.

Tourism Secretary Wanda Teo yesterday said she believes the President will be able to forgive Harvey, who made a mistake of announcing Miss Colombia as Miss Universe 2015 instead of Philippine representative Pia Wurtzbach, the true winner.

“Miss Universe pageant is four months away. That’s more than enough time to assuage President Duterte about his hesitation on Mr. Harvey’s hosting the event,” Teo said.

“I’ve known him for many years as our Davao City mayor with a big heart for well-meaning people like Mr. Harvey, who did not hesitate to correct his mistake,” she added.

The tourism chief admitted on Thursday that the President had expressed reservations over having Harvey host the coronation night of the pageant to be held on Jan. 30, 2017 at the Mall of Asia Arena.

However, she explained that Harvey has a five-year contract with the Miss Universe organization to emcee the pageant.

In an interview with a local radio station, Teo said she will speak personally with the President and may ask Pia Wurtzbach for help to convince him to give Harvey a second chance.

“The reigning Miss Universe, our very own Pia Wurtzbach, has the magnanimity to appreciate the way Mr. Harvey stepped up to redeem himself. I’m counting on the same sense of forgiveness and class act among Filipinos,” she said.

Teo also said the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) will implement long-term programs to uplift the lives of Filipino street dwellers, instead of simply hauling them out of the streets for the duration of the Miss Universe pageant.

“I do not consider homeless and street dwellers as mere eyesores. They are rather a manifestation of the tragic poverty that the Duterte administration is addressing right now, through the DSWD and housing agencies,” Teo said.