Like 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.
1. Point is, the question was not answered;
2. Verbal skills in English aside, the way answer was delivered reflects one’s social maturity, which affects personality score
3. Granting perfect score in beauty (80%), and a null in Q & A, how far are the other candidates in the scorecard?
4. A prestigious national beauty pageant based on 90% beauty and 10% intelligence, how do we fare with similar pagents in other countries?
5. Now we have a national bet to Ms. World competition with none [yet] but 90% beauty.
6. A repeat of the same, this time on international stage, is most likely to happen if coaching and more intensive coaching is not provided.
7. Let’s redefine our ideals of what a beauty pageant should be in line with criteria used in int’l pageants. My goodness, am I to think Ms. World is also 90% beauty and 10% brain?
8. Lastly, c’mon the judges surely looked enjoying that portion of the night. it’s an oxymoron; how could one find hilarious an answer that is off the mark. suffice to say there will always be “conspiracy theory” of judges not doing their work… except, perhaps, when scorecards are laid bare and some geeks start proving statistically that there’s no bias.
Go Philippines! Change if you must if that’s all it takes to lift you up and soar to national recovery..
This only proves how low the standard of education has become in this land. Whatever excuse she use, poverty or crap, she was able to finish elementary and highschool, right? Might not be in an exclusive school, might just be in a public school, but with the way she answered, it’s as if she hasn’t learned anything. >.>
i think clocks comment is a little harsh, i mean the girl is under pressure, give her a break, at least, a little. but, i do believe, like most pinoys around the globe, that she doesn’t deserve the crown.
I dont see anything wrong with speaking in Filipino. I mean if speaking in our native tongue would enable her to communicate more effectively, then why deprive her of such privilege?
Great site you have here. I just hope you update it soon.