Miss Universe Spain Alicia Faubel floors Filipino fans with fluent Tagalog while in Manila


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A video showing Miss Universe Spain Alicia Faubel speaking fluent Tagalog is winning her fans online, especially Filipinos from around the world.

Faubel, 25, who won the crown last month and will represent her country at Miss Universe 2022 pageant in January, was in Manila for a week of charity work.

In the video, Faubel can be seen speaking in fluent Tagalog, the national language of the Philippines, with a young boy as she offers him street food.

"Gusto mo'to? Ilan? [You want it? How many?]" Faubel asks the boy, whose name viewers later find out is Patrick, 11.

The pair can then be seen sharing a joke and high-fiving as they chat in Tagalog.

The video then cuts to Faubel and Patrick riding in a pedicab, a motorised tricycle popular in the Philippines.

Still speaking in Tagalog, Faubel asks Patrick who his favourite Miss Universe contestant was, to which the boy replies "Ikaw [you]", earning a hug from the beauty queen.

Faubel, who shared the video on her Instagram reels, captioned it in Tagalog, writing: "Brother Patrick is so kind and sweet. Next time, let's do a tokneneng mukbang," referring to a popular Filipino street food made of eggs and orange batter.

The video has been viewed more than 35,000 times since it was posted on Wednesday, with many praising Faubel for her kindness and charm, and floored by her Tagalog skills.

Faubel, a model and actress, learned to speak Tagalog when she lived in Manila for three years. She has also previously lived in Dubai, where she worked as a model.

In another post, Faubel said she will soon return to Manila to prepare for the Miss Universe pageant.

"Can’t wait for the start of November. I will start my beauty pageant training in the Philippines. Two countries working together into getting the best version of myself for the crown. Can’t thank you enough for the love. See you soon Philippines," she said.

Faubel is not the only beauty queen to head to the pageant-mad Philippines to prep for the crown. Miss Universe Bahrain, Evelin Khalifa, was also in the country last month for a pageant boot camp.

From right: Miss Universe Bahrain Evlin Khalifa, Miss Universe Philippines Celeste Cortesi, photographer BJ Pascual, Miss Universe Bahrain national director Josh Yugen, Miss International 2016 Kylie Verzosa and Ian Borromeo, the co-founder of Yugen Group. Photo: Yugen Group
From right: Miss Universe Bahrain Evlin Khalifa, Miss Universe Philippines Celeste Cortesi, photographer BJ Pascual, Miss Universe Bahrain national director Josh Yugen, Miss International 2016 Kylie Verzosa and Ian Borromeo, the co-founder of Yugen Group. Photo: Yugen Group

About 70 countries far and wide — from the UK to Ukraine and Guatemala to Ghana — have named their representatives for the Miss Universe 2022 pageant, with more to be unveiled over the coming months.

The annual event, which was initially meant to be held later this year to crown the 2022 winner, was postponed earlier this month, extending the reign of the current title-holder, Harnaaz Sandhu from India.

New Orleans will host the pageant on January 14.

Scroll through the gallery below for all the Miss Universe 2022 contestants who've been crowned so far

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Timeline

2012-2015

The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East

May 2017

The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts

September 2021

Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act

October 2021

Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence 

December 2024

Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group

May 2025

The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan

July 2025

The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan

August 2025

Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision

October 2025

Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange

November 2025

180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE

TRAP

Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue

Director: M Night Shyamalan

Rating: 3/5

Ain Dubai in numbers

126: The length in metres of the legs supporting the structure

1 football pitch: The length of each permanent spoke is longer than a professional soccer pitch

16 A380 Airbuses: The equivalent weight of the wheel rim.

9,000 tonnes: The amount of steel used to construct the project.

5 tonnes: The weight of each permanent spoke that is holding the wheel rim in place

192: The amount of cable wires used to create the wheel. They measure a distance of 2,4000km in total, the equivalent of the distance between Dubai and Cairo.

White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogenChromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxideUltramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica contentOphiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on landOlivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour

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Updated: October 18, 2022, 4:28 AM