MANILA, Philippines - Mayra Matos Perez, 2009 Miss Puerto Rico and Miss Universe fourth runner-up of the same year, is here for a “mission” that is, to give away bicycles to poor school children at a town in Bohol. She’s accompanied by her boyfriend, Shimmy McHugh, a businessman with Filipino blood (related to the Floros on his mother’s side) based in Puerto Rico.
They arrived last week and should be going back to Puerto Rico any day now, after a brief visit to Bohol.
Why Bohol?
Shimmy (who has been romantically linked to a Filipino actress and a former Miss Universe) said that he’s related to the boyfriend (a foreigner) of a prominent lady who loves Bohol. During one of his visits there, Shimmy saw poor school children walking long distances to school, so he thought of donating bicycles for them.
“We had a press conference in Puerto Rico and we requested for donations,” said Mayra who reigned as Puerto Rico’s Miss Teen International before she won as the country’s representative to last year’s Miss Universe pageant in which Venezuela’s Stefania Fernandez won. “With the money raised, we were able to buy several bicycles. Many people also donated slightly-used bicycles. We will be shipping the bicycles to the Philippines very soon.”