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Bea Santiago shares experience with sexual harassment

20 Nov – Amid the sexual harassment scandal plaguing the Miss Earth Organisation and the backlash towards the beauty queens who spoke up about the harassments they received from one of the pageant sponsors, former beauty queen Bea Santiago took to social media to open up about her own struggles with harassments and assault.

The Miss International 2013 took to Facebook to stress the reality of sexual harassments, not just in pageants, but everywhere - by sharing her own experience in several points.

"I was molested when I was a child by a priest. He is still preaching somewhere in Masbate. I was told "Why are you born too late! or sus sayang ka Bea, kong napanganak ka lang mas maaga" by a pageant guy winner. I was 12-years-old and he was 21."

She also revealed to have been inappropriately touched once by a well-known businessman.

"This guy is a well-known CEO of a big company. He even organised parties for girls who didn't win with his friends (I think "hoping" they stopped it). The next time I met him I was a candidate and the organisers were there to see things thoroughly.

"He couldn't interact with us because the chairwoman was present and so was the chaperones. - still he was talking nonsense to us," she added.

She also revealed an incident in which a pageant queen was also harassed while they were taking a photo, although she couldn't remember whether it happened at a Congress or Senate.

"She immediately told me (with a "help me" look) so I put my hand covering her back protecting her from the "old well known perv". We just won an international pageant but still..."

She also revealed that a middle-aged man once tried to touch her behind but missed it as she was prepared by putting her hands behind her.

"It happens. No matter how careful you are. No matter how big/ popular/ old/ "religious" a person is, he can still be a pervert," she said.

Santiago said that she felt guilty for not speaking up and file complaints or even retaliate physically on them. However, she hopes that by speaking up, she would be able to help future pageant hopefuls.

"I am honestly really scared to speak up. I hope I won't regret this," she added.

(Photo Source: Bea Rose Instagram)