In her first public appearance after winning the  Miss Universe Philippines title, newly crowned queen Chelsea Manalo of Bulacan admitted that she almost quit the national pageant due to "financial issues."

"Well, what happened was because I really had financial issues. I think most of the girls had that problem as well," Chelsea told a media conference at Belmont Hotel in Pasay City.

"As for me, I joined here as an independent woman. Everything that I had to go through, through the pageant, I laid it out on myself. I told my mom and my dad that I wanted to join this season's Miss Universe Philippines. So they really did support me. But because of this, I also had to risk quitting my job. So because of that, the only income I have was just a couple amounts," she revealed.

Chelsea recalled that "It's no joke. It's really scary and it's a really long battle for all of us to fight it. You don't know where our resources will come because everyone would have to risk something. And this is what happened to me."

She added, however, that help came in the nick of time from the provincial government of Bulacan, which supported her pageant journey.

"Thank God there are people who supported me and pushed me to continue. I've had a lot of good help from the governor of Bulacan. So I would like to thank Governor Daniel Fernando for helping me and Vice Governor Alex Castro.

"Because of the support that I've been getting, it made me continue, and now I'm here," Chelsea remarked.

Labeled by some netizens as the "Bulacan Barbie," Chelsea was considered a dark horse candidate for the just-concluded MUPH finals. 

The only special award she got during the preliminaries was "Miss Jojo Bragais" because premier shoemaker Jojo Bragais "was very impressed with Chelsea during the filming" of an ad for the brand,  director Rod Singh bared in a now-viral Facebook post which Bragais also shared.

"Days before filming, we were told that she’s planning to quit coz she doesn’t have the resources anymore. On set, I told her, 'You are our muse'," Singh reported.

"Super glowing sya nung shoot namin kaya sabi ko sa self ko si Bulacaan @manalochelsea is our New Miss Jojo Bragais Choice Awardee for #missuniversephilipines2024," Bragais declared in a Facebook post after his bet's win.

Chelsea said she's very excited to train for Miss Universe 2024, which will be held in Mexico, and for the opportunities that will come her way from winning. The new Miss Universe Philippines automatically became the ambassador of PLDT Home.