Paolo Bediones Defends Bb. Pilipinas
Monday, March 17th, 2008Like a true gentleman, Bb. Pilipinas host, Paolo Bediones, was quick to defend Janina San Miguel from all the criticism she’s been getting for her debacle at the Q&A portion of the recently concluded beauty pageant. Here are some excerpts from his interview on Inquirer:
“Was she deserving of the crown? Based on the criteria for judging and the process the SGV implemented, the answer to that question is an emphatic yes. Beauty of face and figure comprised a total of 80 percent and remember she won both the long gown and swimsuit competition which leaves us with 20 percent to be divided evenly between personality and intelligence. Yes for this pageant, 10 percent for intelligence was all that was allotted.”
“So no matter how badly she may have performed in the Q&A, she couldn’t have lost much considering she had a huge headstart in the scores.
“What now for Janina, the candidate who gained notoriety by simply being herself, the candidate who was able to eclipse national issues by uttering a few grammatically incorrect phrases and the candidate who took home one of the coveted crowns? While many ridicule her and brand her undeserving I have but one thing to say: I admire her for not buckling under the pressure and for being as blatantly honest as possible.
“She wasn’t pretending to be anything. Standing beside her, I could feel her sincerity to come up with a satisfactory answer despite the handicap she had in communicating effectively in English.”
“Did I feel sorry for her? Yes, I did. Do I feel sorry for her now? No. I am so excited to see how God will pull her out of this. She is now experiencing so much persecution that adults many years her senior would have difficulty facing. It’s so easy for us to say ‘we would have done better given the chance’ but do we know for sure? Do we know what it feels like to be in front of thousands, watched by millions worldwide probably with the pressure knowing if we do well it could be the answer to lift our family out of its current economic state? Do we know what it feels like to be booed endlessly way after the pageant is over?
“At 17, Janina now knows the truth. Life can be cruel, but here’s the good news: Train hard for the pageant, work on your skills and enhance your talents. Mabuhay ka, Janina San Miguel!”
I just pray that when the international competition finally happens, Janina will just speak in Tagalog.


