Filipino transgender woman Mela Franco Habijan has gained huge notice in London.
She is the cover girl for the January issue of London-based TransBeauty Magazine.
The Miss Trans Global 2020 titleholder is ecstatic over the milestone.
"It’s so surreal to see myself on the cover of a magazine. It’s my very first and it’s so poetic! I have my crown and sash on, and it’s for Trans Beauty Magazine London," she wrote on Instagram along with the digital copy of the magazine's front cover.
"I’m a Queen. I am Trans. I am Filipina. (heart emoji and Philippine flag emoji)," she added.
"I treat the pageant stage as a world where I can be confident, shine, and be my true self," Mela was quoted to have said by TransBeauty.
It was September last year when Mela made history after she was crowned Miss Trans Global 2020 during a virtual pageant.
She is a cum laude communication graduate of Ateneo de Manila University in 2008 and has served as a writer for ABS-CBN’s "Gandang Gabi Vice," "The Buzz," "Simply KC," and "Your Face Sounds Familiar."
She also teaches writing and mentors campus journalists on feature writing.