Ariella tweet: Pinoy spirit is waterproof

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines’ bet to Miss Universe 2013 Ariella Arida said “the Filipino spirit is waterproof” and her fight for the crown in Moscow, Russia is dedicated to her countrymen, especially those affected by Super Typhoon Yolanda.

In a video uploaded on her Twitter account, crowd favorite Arida also told Filipinos to be safe and be strong and that her prayers are with them.

Yolanda pounded the Visayas and some parts of Luzon on Friday, toppling power and communication lines, uprooting trees and damaging houses and buildings across a wide swath.

During the onslaught of the super typhoon, a comment on an article in CNN about the resiliency of Filipinos to cope with disasters started a social media flurry.

In the article titled “More than 100 killed in one Philippine city by Super Typhoon Haiyan” posted on the CNN website, user Dudesko01 commented: “Time to get to the know the hardy Filipino people... unbelievably resilient, long suffering, good natured, über friendly, loyal, ingenious, and a bunch of survivors.”

“At the end of the day the Filipinos will just shake off the dirt from their clothes and thongs and go about their business... and SMILE. They do not complain much, they will bear as long as they can. Maybe this is why they were given the ‘privilege’ of bearing the burden of the strongest typhoon ever recorded. The indomitable human spirit at its finest,” the post added.

The comment went viral on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. It “uplifted the spirits” of Filipino netizens, who said that they were “proud to be Filipinos” and that “even the strongest typhoon in history could not shatter Filipino faith.”

Another user, A-Car-In-Every-Garage, replied to Dudesko01 on the CNN page: “You called it absolutely correct. They (Filipino) are beautiful people on the inside and out. They will move forward when the storm passes.”

Moreover, an image posted and shared on Twitter said that “the Filipino spirit is stronger than any typhoon” with the hashtag #StrongerPH also circulated online.

CNN and Filipino hashtags have trended on Twitter since Friday.