Rachel, still Ms. Universe to her family

By Juan Escandor Jr. NAGA CITY---The Obregon family, the family of Rachel Peters on the mother side, woke up early because of the excitement over the Miss Universe pageant being held thousands of miles away where their kin competed for the most prestigious beauty contest. Rachel Peters, the Philippine bet to the Ms. Universe beauty pageant, did not make it to the top five, though she made it to the top 10 even as she was put back to the competition through the wild card option. Peters did not make it to the Top 4 selection on geographical basis. “She tried her best and she remains to be the Ms. Universe in our family,” Gloria Obregon Villagarcia, the youngest aunt to Peters, shared after Ms. Colombia was called in to fill in the last slot in the top five. Located deep inside the interior of Calle Putol and accessible by narrow alleyways, the residence of Peters’s grandparents---Leonor and Fausto Obregon---where the Ms. Universe contender used to visit when she was still a child, was filled with relatives and neighbors who were rooting for their candidate. Merly Obregon, an older aunt to Peters, remembers the Philippine contender as athletic when she was still a child who also have special love for animals. Obregon said her sister, a nurse, named Anita, is Peters’ mother who is married to a British national. She said Peters started coming to Naga City when she was one year old after she was born in Bahrain and stayed here in 1993-1994 “for good.” Obregon said when Peters was still a child she told her she wanted to be a veterinarian. “When she was growing older her interest turned to swimming and surfing. I think by then she already set aside her ambition to be a vet med,” she said. Obregon said all her family are in full support of Peters’ participation in the Ms. Universe beauty pageant and she remains to be their “Ms. Universe.”