Maria Rosario Silayan, Bb. Pilipinas 1980, at Miss Universe 1980

The 1980 Miss Universe top 5 finalists. Miss Philippines Maria Rosario Silayan is 3rd Runner Up.
Photo Credit: Norman's Blog

One thing great about Maria Rosario Silayan, Binibining Pilipinas 1980, is that her beauty radiates from within. She was beautiful from inside and out. She was beautiful physically and more so when she spoke her heart and mind. She was very intelligent and can engage in any conversation on almost any topic. She represented the Philippines in the 1980 Miss Universe pageant held in Seoul, South Korea.

There were 69 beautiful delegates from all corners of the globe. And Rosario's journey towards the top five was hell of an exciting ride. While front runners USA, Sweden, Scotland, New Zealand almost effortlessly secured for themselves the top four (4) slots. Ms. Philippines literally had to brace up against Misses Canada and Puerto Rico for the last slot. During the preliminary competitions, Ms. Philippines placed 6th while Puerto Rico and Canada placed 3rd and 5th respectively. Fortunately, all the preliminary scores were nullified and the top twelve contestants had to compete anew in finals before a new set of judges.

The first category was interview. Here, Miss Philippines showed remarkable wit and charm. She was also very calm, confident and spontaneous. She answered the questions with whatever pops out of her mind. She ranked 4th in the interview while Misses Canada and Puerto Rico placed 6th and 7th places respectively. The second category was swimsuit, where Miss Canada made a considerable margin against her two close rivals. Miss Canada ranked 5th, while Misses Philippines and Puerto Rico tailed off at 6th and 7th places.

The last category was the evening gown. Miss Philippines nailed this category with her elegance and grace and an unforgettable serpentina blue gown designed by Renee Salud. She made a very high score, second only to Ms. USA who was the judges' favorite. Eventually, Ms. Philippines secured a comfortable spot at the top five (5). She ranked fourth (8.196), with USA first (8.640), New Zealand second (8.361), Sweden third (8.268), Scotland fifth (8.192). Misses Canada and Puerto Rico were waylaid.

The last round of competition was the question and answer where each of the top five will draw from lots a question and was required to answer it immediately. Ms. Philippines answered the question well and so did other finalists. There was no more scoring at the question and answer portion. The Judges were only asked to ranked the five finalists in their order of preference.

Naturally, the judges' favorite, Miss USA, Shawn Nichols Weatherly won the crown. She deserved it though for she managed to maintain a clear margin from the rest of the delegates in all categories and in all phases of the pageant. Ms. Philippines was declared 3rd Runner Up, also great finish! When all the 69 beautiful delegates deserve the crown, to be at the top five(5) was already a great achievement.

Rosario was a pride of the Philippines. She was an unforgettable face, a beautiful heart and a smile that's endearing to the heart.  

Note: Rosario died at the age 46 on April 23, 2006 due to colon cancer.