Lea Salonga: I didn't write my question for Ms. Angola

Philippine pride Lea Salonga, who was among the telecast judges in the just concluded 2011 Miss Universe pageant, clarified on Tuesday that she did not write the question she asked to the newly-crowned beauty queen Leila Lopes from Angola. Salonga, a world-renowned singer and actress known for originating the role of Kim in the musical Miss Saigon, issued the statement on her Twitter account after receiving credit for her question. A New York-based Twitter user, Victor Lirio (@victorlirio), initially congratulated the Tony Award winner on his Twitter account, saying: "Great question!" Salonga's question to Lopes was: "If you could change one of your physical characteristics, which one would it be and why?" In response to Lirio's message, however, Salonga admitted she did not craft the question: "Thanks, but I can't take credit for it. Those questions are all assigned to us, written by the guys at Miss Universe." In a follow-up tweet, Salonga further said: "Just so you all know, I didn't write my question. All our questions are pre-written and each judge is assigned one. Luck of the draw." Aside from Salonga, the other telecast judges were Helio Castroneves, Connie Chung, Isabeli Fontana, Vivica A. Fox, Adrienne Maloof-Nassif, Farouk Shami, Italo Zanzi, and Miss Universe 2003 Amelia Vega. Miss Universe winner Lopes, a business student from the town of Benguela in her home country, succeeded Miss Universe 2010 Ximena Navarette of Mexico. Lopes, 25, laughed and smiled as she hugged runner-up Miss Ukraine Olesia Stefanko, then felt a crown placed carefully on her head at the pageant held in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Earlier in the contest, Lopes had been asked what she might change about her physical characteristics if she could, but Lopes said she was satisfied with who she was. "I consider myself a woman endowed with inner beauty," she told the judges and the audience. "I have acquired many wonderful principles from my family, and I plan to follow those through the rest of my life." Meanwhile, Philippine bet and early pageant favorite Shamcey Supsup was named 3rd runner-up, just behind Angola, Ukraine, and Brazil. China's Luo Zilin rounded up the Top Five. Asked during the question-and-answer portion if she was willing to change her religious beliefs to marry the person she loves, Supsup, who comes from General Santos City, said: "If I would have to change my religious beliefs, I would not marry the person that I love. Because the first person that I love is God, who created me." "I have my faith and my principles, and this is what makes me who I am. If the person loves me, he'll love my God, too," she added. Contestants from 89 countries and territories participated in this year's pageant, surpassing the previous record of 86 contestants in 2006. — with Reuters/RSJ, GMA News