MANILA, Philippines — Vickie Rushton admitted that she has no one to blame but herself for failing to answer the Q&A during the Binibining Pilipinas pageant.
“Before nun, iniisip ko ‘Makakasagot ako! Makakasagot ako! Tanungin niyo na ako!’ Parang ganun po lagi yung iniisip ko,” the beauty queen recalls of her Q&A moment in a “Tonight with Boy Abunda” interview aired Tuesday night.
“Tapos ‘yun, medyo na-distract po ako sa audience po. Pero feeling ko ako din po ‘yun kasi kailangan di po ako ma-disctract kasi dapat prepared ako,” Rushton said. “Di ko alam bakit ako ganun ka-weak that night para ma-distract.”
During the Q&A portion of the pageant last June 9, the beauty queen from Negros Occidental was asked by celebrity judge Daniel Padilla, “Why is mental health as important as physical health?”
Rushton then failed answer Padilla’s question, and later on said that she got distracted by an audience member.
Her boyfriend, actor Jason Abalos, came to her defense, saying Rushton prepared for the Q&A portion.
READ: Jason Abalos explains why Vickie Rushton got distracted during Bb. Pilipinas Q&A
“Parang may nakita ako na biglang tumayo at nag-make face sa akin na ‘Wala, wala.’ So napa-stop ako doon,” she said of the audience member who distracted her. “Nakuha lang po ‘yung attention ko. Hindi ko naman siya kilala.”
“Pero sabi ko nga sana hindi ako na-distract kasi dapat focused ako sa self ko. Wala din po akong bine-blame but myself,” Rushton added.
And if given the opportunity to answer the question again, she would’ve said: “So mental health is as important as physical health because it goes hand in hand for our inner being. Growing up, I was bullied, it affected my mental and physical health. And as a woman who [has] been through a lot, I can use it to empower and inspire the people and remind them that self-love is important for us to be productive.” (Editor: Mike U. Frialde)